Incremental response of granular materials: DEM results

We systematically investigate the incremental response of various equilibrium states of dense 2D model granular materials, along the biaxial compression path (σ11 < σ22, σ12 = 0). Stress increments are applied in arbitrary directions in 3dimensional stress space (σ11,σ22,σ12). In states with stable contact networks we compute the stiffness matrix and the elastic moduli, and separate elastic and irreversible strains in the range in which the latter are homogeneous functions of degree one of stress increments. Without principal stress axis rotation, the response abides by elastoplasticity with a Mohr-Coulomb criterion and a non-associated flow rule. However a nonelastic shear strain is also observed for increments of σ12, and shear and in-plane responses couple. This behavior correlates to the distribution of friction mobilization and sliding at contacts.