Damage separation model: A replaceable particle method based on strain energy field

Area of Science:

• Computational mechanics
• Granular physics
• Material science

Background:

• Simulating particle fragmentation in granular assemblies is crucial for understanding material behavior.
• Existing methods often oversimplify particle stress and impose unrealistic geometrical constraints post-fragmentation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a realistic and robust model for simulating particle fragmentation in granular assemblies.
• To address the limitations of existing replaceable particle methods.

Main Methods:

• Developed the damage separation model (DSM) comprising three modules: boundary element calculation for stress/strain fields, a strain-energy-based fragmentation framework, and the subset separation method (SSM) for post-breakage replacements.
• The SSM allows for arbitrary numbers, locations, and orientations of fracture planes without geometrical limitations.

Main Results:

• The DSM accurately simulates particle stress and strain fields, predicting fragmentation onset based on strain energy.
• Validated through uniaxial compression tests, the DSM demonstrated superior stability and accuracy compared to four other methods.
• The SSM effectively handles fragment generation without artificial constraints on fragment number or shape.

Conclusions:

• The damage separation model (DSM) offers a significant advancement in simulating particle fragmentation.
• It provides unprecedented numerical resolution for capturing morphological changes in particle breakage and comminution.
• The DSM has great potential for applications in geomechanics, materials processing, and other fields involving granular materials.