Scaling, saturation, and upper bounds in the failure of topologically interlocked structures

TL;DR

This study investigates how Young's modulus and friction coefficient influence the behavior and failure of topologically interlocked slabs, revealing linear scaling and saturation effects that establish upper bounds on capacity.

Contribution

It provides the first parametric analysis of the effects of Young's modulus and friction coefficient on TIS slabs using the Level-Set-Discrete-element-Method, offering new insights into their structural limits.

Findings

Structural response scales linearly with Young's modulus.

Response parameters saturate with increasing friction coefficient.

Saturated response sets an upper bound on capacity.

Abstract

Topological Interlocking Structures (TIS) have been increasingly studied in the past two decades. However, some fundamental questions concerning the effects of Young's modulus and the friction coefficient on the structural mechanics of the most common type of TIS application - centrally loaded slabs - are not yet clear. Here, we present a first-of-its-kind parametric study based on the Level-Set-Discrete-element-Method that aims to clarify how these two parameters affect multiple aspects of the behavior and failure of centrally-loaded TIS slabs. This includes the evolution of the structural response up to and including failure, the foremost structural response parameters, and the residual carrying capacity. We find that the structural response parameters in TIS slabs scale linearly with Young's modulus, that they saturate with the friction coefficient, and that the saturated response provides an upper-bound on the capacity of centrally loaded TIS slabs reported in the literature. This, together with additional findings, insights, and observations, comprise a novel contribution to our understanding of the interlocked structural form.