A Discrete Element Framework for Modeling the Mechanical Behaviour of Snow PART II: Model Validation

in Granular Matter (2021), 23(2), 43

A micro-scale modelling approach of snow based on the extension of the classical discrete element method (DEM) has been presented in the first part of this study. This modelling approach is employed to ... [more ▼]

A micro-scale modelling approach of snow based on the extension of the classical discrete element method (DEM) has been presented in the first part of this study. This modelling approach is employed to predict the mechanical response of snow under compression dependent on strain rate, initial density and temperature. Results obtained under a variety of conditions are validated with experimental data for both micro- and macro-scale, in particular the broad range between ductile i.e.~low deformation rates and brittle i.e.~high deformation rates regimes are investigated. For this purpose snow is assumed to be composed of ice grains that are inter-connected by a network of bonds between neighbouring grains. This arrangement represents the micro-scale of which the interaction is described by inter-granular collision and bonding. Hence, the response on a macro-scale is largely determined by inter-granular collisions and deformation and failure of bonds during a loading cycle. Consequently, validation was first carried out on micro-scale deformations at different loading rates and temperatures. Hereafter, macro-scale simulations of confined and unconfined, deformation-controlled compression tests have been predicted and were successfully compared to experimental data reported in literature. [less ▲]

Microstructure-based multiscale modeling of mechanical response for materials with complex microstructures

Doctoral thesis (2020)

Complex microstructures are found in several material especially in biological tissues, geotechnical materials and many manufactured materials including composites. These materials are difficult to handle ... [more ▼]

Complex microstructures are found in several material especially in biological tissues, geotechnical materials and many manufactured materials including composites. These materials are difficult to handle by classical numerical analysis tools and the need to incorporate more details on the microstructure have been observed. This thesis focuses on the microstructure-based multi-scale modeling of the mechanical response of materials with complex microstructures and whose mechanical properties are inherently dependent on their internal structure. The conditions of interest are large displacements and high-rate deformation. This work contributes to the understanding of the relevance of microstructure informations on the macroscopic response. A primary application of this research is the investigation and modeling of snow behavior, it has been extended to modeling the impact response in concrete and composite. In the first part, a discrete approach for fine-scale modeling is applied to study the behavior of snow under the conditions mentioned above. Also, application of the this modeling approach to concrete and composite can be found in the appendices. The fine-scale approach presented herein is based on the coupling of Discrete Element Method and aspects of beam theory. This fine-scale approach has proven to be successful in modeling micro-scale processes found in snow. The micro-scale processes are mainly intergranular friction, intergranular bond fracture, creep, sintering, cohesion, and grain rearrangement. These processes not only influence the overall response of the material but also induce permanent changes in its internal structure. Therefore, the initial geometry considered during numerical analysis should be updated after each time or loading increment before further loading. Moreover, when the material matrix is partially granular and continuum, the influence of fluctuating grains micro-inertia caused by debonding, cracking and contact have a significant effect on the macroscopic response especially under dynamic loading. Consequently, the overall rate and history dependent behavior of the material is more easily captured by discrete models. Discrete modeling has proven to be efficient approach for acquiring profound scientific insight into deformation and failure processes of many materials. While important details can be obtained using the discrete models, computational cost and intensive calibration process is required for a good prediction material behavior in the real case scenarios. Therefore, in order to extend the abovementioned fine-scale model to real engineering cases a coarse-scale continuum model based have been developed using an upscaling approach. This upscaled model is based on the macroscopic response of the material with a special regard to the microstructure information of the material. Different strategies are presented for incorporating the microstructure information in the model. Micro-scale related dissipation mechanisms have been incorporated in the coarse-scale model through viscoplasticity and fracture in finite strain formulation. The thesis is divided into nine chapters, where each is an independent paper published or submitted as a refereed journal article. [less ▲]

Micromechanical model for sintering and damage in viscoelastic porous ice and snow. Part I: Model and calibration

in International Journal of Solids and Structures (2019)

Ice and snow are usually classified as a viscoelastic or viscoplastic materials according to temperature, strain rate, pressure and time scale. Throughout experimental studies presented in the literature ... [more ▼]

Ice and snow are usually classified as a viscoelastic or viscoplastic materials according to temperature, strain rate, pressure and time scale. Throughout experimental studies presented in the literature, it has been observed that at very low temperatures or high strain rates, porous ice and snow exhibit brittle behavior, but experience high viscous and plastic flow at temperatures close to the melting point and low rates. At the macroscopic level, nonlinearity is not necessarily attributed to permanent changes in the material or yielding but mainly to micro cracks, intergranular sliding, porosity collapse and crack propagation. In this paper, this complex behavior is described with a full microstructure-based model. Classical rheological models and beam theory are used to describe aspects of creep and fracture of granular ice and snow. [less ▲]

Integrated micromechanical model for slope stability analysis

Scientific Conference (2019, April 09)

Advances in supercomputing hardware have made it possible to handle highly complex geomechanical analysis with large data. Thus, particle-based methods are gaining an ever-increasing interest with ... [more ▼]

Advances in supercomputing hardware have made it possible to handle highly complex geomechanical analysis with large data. Thus, particle-based methods are gaining an ever-increasing interest with massively parallel programs being developed. These methods have been applied to the analysis of failure mechanisms and scenarios such as mass movement in landslides, avalanches under static, dynamic or seismic loading condition. They provide deep insights into the meso and micro-scale mechanisms leading to macroscopic instabilities. This contribution describes a micromechanical model for stability analysis and simulation in natural or man-made slopes under complex loading and boundary conditions. Based on the micromechanics of loose granular and compacted geomaterial, microstructural change, viscoelastic deformations, fracture, and healing are explicitly integrated into a coupled discrete particle and beam lattice model. Stress-based failure criteria and energy based dissipation and frictional contact are employed. Both gravity increase and strength reduction methods have been employed to evaluate the Factor of Safety (FoS) and potential failure surface and compared. With an emphasis on the impact of the microstructure and its spatial variability on stress-induced microcracks and crack propagation, this study outlines material models and properties relevant to stability analysis. Special focus has been put on layered slopes which present varying shear strength along the depth formed over time according to pressure, temperature, and moisture such as snowpack. This microstructural approach unifies geometrical and material information and allows the structural assembling layers of different strength. [less ▲]

Identification of optimal process parameters in selective laser sintering

Scientific Conference (2019)

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is an efficient method for manufacturing complex geometries with high strength and durability. The SLS process subjects a powder bed to thermal cycles allowing theparticles ... [more ▼]

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is an efficient method for manufacturing complex geometries with high strength and durability. The SLS process subjects a powder bed to thermal cycles allowing theparticles to coalesce into a solid part without being completely melted. The thermal cycles along withthe thermo-mechanical properties of the powder dictate the properties of the manufactured part.Choosing optimal parameters that lead to functional parts with the desired stiffness, density andstrength requires extensive testing. Microscales models such that Molecular dynamics and DiscreteParticles offer great flexibilities and capacity to reproduce the SLS process from the physical point ofview [1].This study presents a multi-physical model based on the Extended Discrete Element Method forsimulating the thermodynamics and thermo-mechanics that take place in the SLS process as well asthe microstructure evolution of the part. A thermo-viscoelastic constitutive model for discreteparticles is coupled with heat transfer, sintering and fracture to predict.A genetic algorithm is employed to identify optimal process parameters, namely laser power,scanning speed, preheating temperature and layer thickness in an automated iterative process. Theseparameters are identified so that the density and strength of the cooled part meet the target values. [less ▲]

Micromechanical model for sintering and damage in viscoelastic porous ice and snow. Part I: Theory

E-print/Working paper (2018)

Ice and snow have sometime been classified as a viscoelastic or viscoplastic mate- rial according to temperature, strain rate, pressure and time scale. Throughout experimental studies presented in the ... [more ▼]

Ice and snow have sometime been classified as a viscoelastic or viscoplastic mate- rial according to temperature, strain rate, pressure and time scale. Throughout experimental studies presented in the literature, it has been observed that at very low temperatures or high strain rate, porous ice and snow exhibit brittle behavior, but experience high viscous and plastic flow at temperatures closed to the melting point and low rates. At the macroscopic level nonlinearity is not necessarily attributed to material level permanent changes or yielding but mainly to micro cracks, porosity collapse and crack propagation. This paper attempts to address this complex behavior with a full microstructure based model. [less ▲]

Multiscale model of sintering: diffusion and plastic flow

Scientific Conference (2017, September 27)

Impacting particles or static aggregated particles at high temperature may undergo a permanent change of shape modifying the microstructure. Two particles in contact can develop some bonds within sub ... [more ▼]

Impacting particles or static aggregated particles at high temperature may undergo a permanent change of shape modifying the microstructure. Two particles in contact can develop some bonds within sub-second time. This fast sintering force in the particular case of the snow contribute to the rheological behavior and grain rearrangement [1]. Understanding the kinetics of sintering in granular material is of great importance in some engineering applications. For decades, diffusional processes have received more attention in investigations related to the mechanisms behind sintering [2]. Some works have suggested that the plastic flow might be neglected in sintering process for stresses are not high enough to cause dislocation. However, some studies have showed that stresses experienced in fine particles necks can be high enough and even lead to plasticity driven sintering. The importance of each mechanism in the sintering process may lie in the temporal and spatial scale of interest. Increasing importance is being accorded to the role of plastic flow in sintering. however, several investigations have proved that the conventional plasticity theory may fail to predict plastic activity at micro-scale, The objective of this work is to develop adequate computational model that includes instantaneous and time-dependent plastic flow at micro-scale. We aim at extending existing models of sintering and plasticity to cope with multiple spatial and temporal scales simulations using Extended Discrete Element Method. The numerical results are compare to experimental data on snow. [less ▲]