Measuring and upscaling micromechanical interactions in a cohesive granular material

TL;DR

This study combines experimental measurements and DEM simulations to connect microscopic bridge interactions with the macroscopic mechanical properties of cohesive granular materials, enabling better predictions of their behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a method to accurately relate microscopic bridge mechanics to bulk properties in cohesive granular media using combined experiments and simulations.

Findings

Microscopic bridge mechanics predict macroscopic stiffness.

DEM simulations match experimental failure modes.

Material stiffness depends on bridge properties and geometry.

Abstract

The mechanical properties of a disordered heterogeneous medium depend, in general, on a complex interplay between multiple length scales. Connecting local interactions to macroscopic observables, such as stiffness or fracture, is thus challenging in this type of material. Here, we study the properties of a cohesive granular material composed of glass beads held together by soft polymer bridges. We characterise the mechanical response of single bridges under traction and shear, using a setup based on the deflection of flexible micropipettes. These measurements, along with information from X-ray microtomograms of the granular packings, then inform large-scale discrete element model (DEM) simulations. Although simple, these simulations are constrained in every way by empirical measurement and accurately predict mechanical responses of the aggregates, including details on their compressive failure, and how the material's stiffness depends on the stiffness and geometry of its parts. By demonstrating how to accurately relate microscopic information to macroscopic properties, these results provide new perspectives for predicting the behaviour of complex disordered materials, such as porous rock, snow, or foam.