Bardel, J. P. & Proubel, J. (1991). G&mhniyue 41, No.

4, 599-613

A numerical investigation of the structure of persistent shear

bands in granular media

J. P. BARDET* and J. PROUBET*

The structure of persistent shear hands in granular
materials is investigated by numerically simulating
an idealized assembly of two-dimensional particles.
Flexible stress-controlled boundaries are used
instead of periodic boundaries to avoid con-
straining the motion of particles within the shear
bands. The displacement, volumetric strain, void
ratio, rotation of the particles, rotation of their
neighbourhoods and contact orientation are exam-
ined within the shear hand. The volumetric strain
determined from local deformation gradients is
found to overestimate dilatancy. The particle rota-
tions are related to the rigid rotation of their
neighbourhoods. The importance of rotations inside
shear bands justifies the micropolar description of
granular materials.
KEYWORDS: constitutive relations; fabric/structure
soils; granular materials; plasticity.
Dans cet article, on etudie la structure des bandes
de cisaillement permanentes en utilisant un modele
numerique d’un ensemble de particules dans un
espace de dimension deux. On a remplace les fron-
tieres pkiodiques par des frontieres aux con-
traintes imposks afin d’eviter de restreindre le
deplacement des grains dans la bande de cis-
aillement. On montre le deplacement, la deforma-
tion volumique, I’indice des vides, la rotation des
grains, la rotation de Leurs voisinages et
I’orientation des contracts a l’interieur de la bande
de cisaillement. On trouve que la deformation volu-
mique calcuk d’apres le gradient de deformation
surestime la dilatance et que la rotation des grains
est reliee a la rotation d’ensemble des particules
voisines. L’importance des rotations confirme les
hypotheses des milieux micropolaires de la theorie
of de Cosserat.

INTRODUCTION since their constitutive equations depended only

The deformations within soils are commonly con- on the first gradient of displacement. Several
centrated in narrow zones called shear bands. theories were elaborated to introduce a micro-
Their thickness in granular materials was found structural length into the constitutive models and
to depend on the grain sizes. Roscoe (1970) Scar- to account for the width of shear bands in soils.
pelli & Wood (1982) and Miihlhaus & Vardou- Bridgwater (1980) proposed a statistical mech-
lakis (1987) reported that the width of shear anics approach. Mtihlhaus & Vardoulakis (1987)
bands is about 8 10 times the mean grain and Vardoulakis (1989) used the micropolar
diameter. The relationship between shear-band (Cosserat) theory. Vardoulakis & Aifantis (1989)
width and grain size has profound implications in and Zbib & Aifantis (1989) introduced the
laboratory and centrifuge testing of reduced-scale second-order and fourth-order gradients of defor-
models. It requires scaling-down of the grain sizes mation. Although based on different physical
in order to simulate the progressive failure of in assumptions, both micropolar and deformation
situ granular masses. It also has implications in gradient approaches successfully detect the emer-
the finite element calculation of ultimate loads gence of shear bands and calculate their inclina-
and failure mechanisms. It implies that the dissi- tion and thickness. Zbib & Aifantis (1989) also
pation of energy concentrates in narrow bands, analysed the evolution of the deformation within
the thickness of which is independent of the mesh the shear bands of metals. Their theory was sup-
size. ported by experimental observations which are
Hill (1962), Mandel (1963) Rudnicki & Rice more abundant in metallurgy than in soil mech-
(1975) and Rice (1976) analysed the emergence anics. They intended to examine the structure of
and inclination of shear bands as a bifurcation shear bands in soils but did not proceed due to
problem in continuum mechanics. However, they lack of experimental data.
did not consider the thickness of shear bands The structure of shear bands in real granular
materials is difficult to investigate using labor-
Discussion on this Paper closes 1 April 1992; for further atory experiments. Radiographic techniques with
details see p. ii. lead shot (Roscoe, Arthur & James, 1963) esti-
* University of Southern California, Los Angeles. mate shear band thickness but are not accurate

599
600 BARDET AND PROUBET

enough to measure the localized field of displace- (Cundall & Strack, 1979). Detailed in Bardet &
ment. The stereophotogrammetric technique of Proubet (1991) they are only summarized below.
Desrues (1984) measures the displacement but not
the rotation of particles. The analysis of shear
bands is also a tedious task to undertake for Contact between particles
idealized materials such as large assemblies of The ith particle is characterized by its radius
two-dimensional rods. Ri , the position of its centre (Xi, yi) and the rota-
The present Authors propose to circumvent tion 0: about its centre. A contact takes place
these experimental difficulties by simulating when two discs overlap: it is idealized as a point
numerically an assembly of two-dimensional rods. and a direction that passes through the centres of
Numerical simulations are not claimed to replace the particles in contact. The orientation of the jth
real laboratory experiments. They are an alterna- contact on the ith particle is characterized by the
tive to investigate the structure of shear bands in unit vector & = (n,j,‘, n,j,‘). The components of
granular materials. Numerical experiments were the contact force are F,,and F, in the directions
first proposed by Cundall & Strack (1979) to parallel and normal to &‘. The change of contact
investigate the relation between the constitutive force resulting from the normal and tangential
equations of soils and their microscopic behav- relative displacements of the particles at the
iour. contact point-An and As respectively-is
Cundall (1989) examined strain localization
during the simple shear of randomly distributed AF, = k,An
(1)
rods that were confined between rigid and per- AF, = k,As
iodic boundaries. Using x-y co-ordinates, his per-
where k, and k, are the normal and tangential
iodic boundaries were two straight lines; y = a
stiffnesses respectively. The contact force obeys
and y = b. A particle leaving the analysis window
the Coulomb friction law
through the periodic boundary at (x, a) was re-
introduced at (x, b). However, periodic bound- F, < F, tan 4,
aries are appropriate only to deformation
patterns with a spatial period smaller than a - b. where 4, is the intergranular friction angle. The
They interfere with the localized deformations force-displacement relationship described in
that are infinitely long in the shear band direc- equations (1) and (2) is elastic/perfectly plastic. It
tion. They force the shear bands to be perpen- is an approximation of more realistic contact
dicular to them. Since Cundall (1989) prescribed relationships such as the Hertzian law.
the shear plane direction, he simulated a direct
shear test rather than a simple shear test. The
present analysis replaces the periodic boundaries Governing equations of statics
with a flexible boundary similar to the ruhber In the absence of body force, each particle is in
membranes of triaxial tests. This stress-controlled static equilibrium under the action of contact and
boundary does not constrain the motion of the external forces. The equilibrium equations of the
particles inside the shear bands. ith particle are
This Paper investigates the structure of persist-
ent shear bands which emerge and evolve during 5 F/i = f,i
the progressive failure of granular materials. It j= 1

does not examine the widening or reflection of

shear bands due to boundary conditions. Also, it F Fyj.i = fyi

j= 1
is not concerned with the transient reorganization

J
of grains during strain localization, which corre-
sponds to the interaction and clustering of dis-
R, 2 (Fxj.in,j.’ _ Fyj.in,j.i) =fsi
j= 1
locations within metals (Zbib & Aifantis, 1989).
The Paper aims to provide experimental data in where nci is the number of contacts on the ith
order to assess the theoretical assumptions of particle, F,j,’ and Fyj,i are the x and y com-
Miihlhaus & Vardoulakis (1987) and Vardoulakis ponents of the jth contact force acting on the ith
(1989). particle, andf,‘,f,’ andf,’ are the x, y and 0 com-
ponents respectively of the external forces pre-
scribed for the ith particle.

PRINCIPLES OF NUMERICAL
SIMULATION Computer program
The principles of the numerical simulation are The equilibrium equations of the ith particle
slightly different from those of the program BALL (equations (3)) are solved by using an adaptive
 PERSISTENT SHEAR BANDS IN GRANULAR MEDIA 601

dynamic relaxation (ADR) technique (Bardet & Table 1. Grain size distribution of
Proubet, 1991). The dynamic approach of the the sample
statics of granular materials is useful to describe
the motion of particles that momentarily lose v
contact with other particles and eventually recon-
nect with the rest of the granular assembly. The
ADR algorithm is based on an explicit integra-
tion scheme. It controls the dynamic transition Mean radius R, = 20 L.

between two static states, restrains the amplitude

of the transient motions and avoids the ‘shaking’
Two horizontal rigid walls are defined as the
of particles between two equilibrium states. It
loading platens. The walls have the same friction
prevents spurious oscillations of the particles that
coefIicients and spring stiffnesses as the particles.
decrease the porosity and increase the shear
A random number generator positions the discs
strength of granular materials.
one by one within the rectangle comprised
The ADR method has been implemented in the
between the rigid walls. The random generation
computer program JP2 (Bardet & Proubet, 1989).
of each particle is repeated as many times as
JP2 uses the same physical principles as BALL;
necessary to ensure that no particles overlap
however, its ADR algorithm controls and ensures
others.
the convergence of the solution toward a particu-
The left and right boundaries, represented in
lar equilibrium state.
parts (a) and (b) of Fig. I by square dots tied
together with a dotted line, are stress-controlled,
or flexible, boundaries. As detailed in Fig. l(c),
FABRICATION, LOADING AND such a boundary is made of straight segments
STRESS-STRAIN RESPONSE OF THE SAMPLE
connecting the centres of external particles.
Fabrication
Forces and moments are externally applied to the
boundary particles by specifying the prescribed
The sample is made of 2000 discs (Fig. 1) that
have the grain size distribution of Table 1 and the
material properties of Table 2. All the physical
Table 2. Material propertiesof the sample
quantities of Table 2 derive from length (L) and
force (F) and are not related to time. They are
expressed by using dimensions instead of units.
They may be scaled in terms of physical units to Friction at contact: degrees
compare the results of these numerical simula-
tions with laboratory experiments.

Stress-controlled
boundary

appkd force
per unit length

(a) (C)
Fig. 1. Initial and deformed configurations of the sample: (a) &22 = 0% (undeformed); (b) &22= 22@!‘0; W detail of
boundary
602 BARDET AND PROUBET

stress tensor. The forces distributed on the deformation sz2 = Ah/h, = 22.6%, where Ah and
boundary are calculated from the unit vectors h, are the change of height and the initial height
normal to the boundary segments and the pre- of the sample. Only a few selected equilibrium
scribed stress tensor. For instance, in Fig. l(c), the states are reported. The transient states between
force Fio applied to the particle centre 0 is two consecutive static states are disregarded since
they do not represent the statics of granular
Fy = BC oijnjBC Oc itB’2 + CD cij ny media.

Stress-strain response of the sample

OD + DE/2
+ DE aijnjDE (4) The characterization of the stress-strain
OF response of the sample requires the definition of
the Cauchy stress from the intergranular contact
where crij is the prescribed stress tensor, and njBc,
forces, and the deformation gradient and volu-
n.CD and n-DE are the unit vectors normal to seg-
metric strain from the particle displacements.
ments BC,‘CD and DE. As indicated in parts (a)
Average Cauchy stress. The average Cauchy
and (b) of Fig. 1, the configuration of the flexible
stress tensor crij is defined within the volume I’ of
membrane changes during a deformation process.
the deformed configuration (Cundall Kc Strack,
When an internal particle attempts to move
1983)
between two external particles, it becomes inte-
grated with the stress-controlled boundary. When
an isotropic stress is specified, the stress-
controlled boundary simulates the rubber mem-
brane used in triaxial tests, neglecting its where nit is the unit normal at contact c of par-
mechanical properties. These flexible boundaries ticle p, Ff is the contact force at contact c of par-
do not constrain the motions of particles like ticle p, N is the number of particles in volume V
periodic boundaries. and mp is the number of contacts on particle p.
The flexible and rigid boundaries are connected The stress tensor rr,j is symmetric since it is the
by introducing four fictitious balls at their inter- sum of the symmetric stress tensors of individual
sections. Like the other particles, these fictitious particles.
balls are allowed to slide and roll on the bound- Average displacement gradient. The average
ary, but, in contrast to the other particles, they displacement gradient in the area I$ of the refer-
are forced to remain in contact with the rigid ence configuration is
walls.

Initial compaction of the sample

After the random generation, the particles do
Fij = +
o s
Y,
?!id+;
aXj s
D s0
ui vj dS,

not touch one another. They are compacted by =+ c J uivjdS

the application of a uniform stress uii = p, of ok-l Sr

unit intensity to the flexible boundary while the
rigid boundaries are fixed. No gravity forces are
applied to the particles, corresponding to a hori-
zontally positioned sample. Fig. l(a) shows the
reference configuration of the sample after the
random generation and the initial compaction. In
this reference state, the average stress within the
sample is not isotropic. The vertical stress uz2 is
equal to 0.6~~ and the horizontal stress cr,, is
equal to pO. The average shear stress (ri2 is negli-
gible in comparison with (ri 1 and crz2.
where M is the number of balls intersected by the
perimeter S, of area I’,,, and S, is made of the
chords AB and BC of S, as shown in Fig. 2. The
material points A, B and C in the initial state
move to points A’, B’ and C’ in the deformed
state. Assuming that the displacement field varies
linearly between points B and C of Fig. 2, it can
be shown that
s ui vj dS = y
SI,
vjAe(uiA + uiB)

Shear loading of the sample + FL VjBC(UiB

+ qy
During the “shear loading, (~ii is maintained
constant at p, on the flexible boundary. The where u* = AA’, uB = BB’ and uc = CC’ are the
loading is controlled by squeezing the upper and displacements of points A, B and C, and vAB and
lower platens gradually in small steps. After each vBc are the unit vectors normal to segments AB
loading increment, the computational cycles are and BC.
performed until convergence is achieved. A total Local displacement gradient. Equation (6)
of 10’ cycles was carried out to reach the axial defines the average displacement gradient F
 PERSISTENT SHEAR BANDS IN GRANULAR MEDIA 603

Finalpostt~on title rotations since it is defined from the relative

of ball k + 1 displacements of the particle centres.

Finaloostlon
C’

UC p’ ,-‘GZ
-
S”
Strain. In the case of finite deformation,
Lagrangian strain Eij is

Eij = f(Fij + Fji + FkiFkj)

the

(9)

Where the deformation is small, Eij coincides

with the infinitesimal strain sij
lnlllalposltlon
of ball k + 1 sij = f(Fij + Fji) (10)

The volumetric strain E, is

E, = q = det(F) - I (11)
0
I lnltlal posltlon
I of ball k and, in the case of infinitesimal strain, is approxi-
mated as
Fig. 2. Calculation of average displacement gradient
a, = E, , + E22 (12)
Stress-strain response. Figure 4 shows three
circular areas V, of the reference configuration
within areas containing many particles. Another
selected to calculate the average gradient of dis-
technique is proposed to calculate the local dis-
placement. The same areas V were chosen to cal-
placement gradient G about a particle. G will be
culate the average stress, although these areas V
used in describing the rotation and volumetric
are in the deformed configuration and do not
strain within the shear band, whereas F is
follow the particle motions. V and V, contain the
reserved for the definition of average stress-strain
same particles for infinitesimal deformation, but
responses.
different particles for large deformation. The
As shown in Fig. 3, a particle initially at pos-
largest area, numbered I, is centred inside the
ition X has m neighbours in the reference configu-
sample; area 2 is mostly inside the shear band
ration. Each neighbour is characterized by the
and area 3 is entirely outside the shear band.
relative position of its centre, dX,. In the
Figure 4 shows the stress-strain response in
deformed position, the particle centre is at pos-
terms of axial stress g 22 plotted against axial
ition x and the relative displacements of its neigh-
strain sz2 The value of sz2 is calculated from the
bours are d_ri. By definition, the local
platen displacement Ah and initial sample height
displacement gradient is the linear operator G
h,: &22 = Ah/h,. The value of rrz2 is obtained by
that transforms dXi into d_ri
using equation (5) and the areas V; it is normal-
dui = G dXi (8) ized by the unit horizontal stress p, prescribed on
the flexible boundary. Alternatively, uz2 is deter-
Since equation (8) is generally not satisfied for all mined by adding the contact forces on the upper
particles when m is greater than 2, G is calculated
by linear regression. Unlike F, G ignores the par-

Total

x Fig. 4. Variation of axial stress oZ2 with axial strain .sZ2

Fig. 3. Significance of local deformation gradient within the whole sample and three averaging areas
604 BARDET AND PROUBET

platen and dividing their resultant vertical force

by the horizontal area of platen covered with par-
ticles. The corresponding stress-strain response is
referred to as total in Fig. 4. It coincides with the
response of the largest sample (area 1) from small
Area 1
to large axial strain. The stress state is not iso-
tropic (i.e. 02* # p,) at ~~~ = 0 due to the sample - - - - Area 2

fabrication.
Area 3
All the stress-strain responses coincide and are
almost linear when sz2 is smaller than 4%. Their
slopes give the elastic Young’s modulus E = 35p,.
For assemblies of two-dimensional particles,
Bathurst & Rothenburg (1988) predicted the I22. %

elastic Young’s modulus E to be Fig. 5. Variation of confining stress (I,, and shear stress
o12 with axial strain eZZin three averaging areas

E = $2R,=k,[ (13)

equation (1 I), even for large deformation. During

where R, is the mean radius of particles, n, is the
the initial compaction phase, the elastic Poisson
number of contacts in volume V, and [ is a
ratio v is found equal to 0,286. When s2= is equal
parameter less than one. Since there are n, =
to 4%, the material starts to dilate. When e2=
1115 contacts in the volume V = 7.85 x 10’ L2,
exceeds 4’%, it continues to dilate and then grad-
R, = 20 L and k, = IOOp,, equation (I 3) predicts
ually stops. Its residual failure takes place without
that E = 35p, when [ is selected equal to 0.308.
a volume change. The idealized material experi-
Since 5 is less than one, the Young’s modulus cal-
ences a critical state like real soils. Fig. 6 also
culated in Fig. 4 is in agreement with the theory
shows the variation of the approximate volu-
of Bathurst & Rothenburg (1988).
metric strain E, z F,, + E== in terms of s2= for
When s2= is about 4%, small spikes are
sample 3. The approximation is justified when cz2
detected in the stress-strain curves before the
is smaller than 15%, but causes an artificial dila-
main peak. They correspond to the beginning of
tion beyond E== = 19%. This remark illustrates
rapid structural changes in the granular
the need to evaluate the residual volumetric strain
assemblies which ultimately form a failure mech-
with an exact, rather than an approximate,
anism with shear bands. This shear band forma-
expression.
tion is a complicated phenomenon that needs
further investigation. As previously mentioned,
the present analysis focuses on the structure of
DISPLACEMENT, VOLUMETRIC STRAIN AND
persistent shear bands and not on their forma-
VOID RATIO
tion.
The shear bands are difficult to detect within
The axial stress e2= reaches a peak value (=
the random assembly of particles shown in Fig.
2.3~~) and then decreases towards a residual
l(b) after large axial strain. However, they are
value (= 1.7~~) for large strain. The peak friction
easily detected from the particle displacements.
angle is 4p = 22.3” and the residual friction angle
is 4, = 14”. Both 4r and 4, are smaller than the
intergranular friction angle $J,, = 26.5”. Cundall,
Drescher & Strack (1982) obtained similar results
(4, = 25” and 4, = 12”) for an assembly of 284
discs having 4,, = 26.5” and a similar grain size
distribution.
Figure 5 shows the variation of o,, and o,= as
a function of E=~. The shear stress o,= is negli-
gible with respect to (ri 1 and u2=. Both ei2 and
(T,, are practically constant when s2= is less than
4%. However, they start to vary when E== exceeds
4X,, implying that the stress becomes slightly
heterogeneous within the sample as a result of
strain localization.
Figure 6 shows the volumetric strain E, of the I22.%
areas V, defined in Fig. 4. There is little difference Fig. 6. Variation of volumetric strain E, versus axial
between these volumetric strains defined by using stram sZ2 in three averaging areas
 PERSISTENT SHEAR BANDS IN GRANULAR MEDIA 605

Coulomb theory is in agreement with the results

observed here since it predicts t’I= 52” for 4 =
4, = 14” and I) = 56.2” for 4 = +p = 22.3”. The
theory of Arthur et nl. (1977) does not agree with
these results. It predicts 0 = 48.5” for 4 = 4, =
14” and $ = O”, and 0 < 50” for 4 = 4p = 22.3”
and II/ > 0” associated with dilatancy.
When the deformation progresses, only the
shear band inclined at 52” persists. Its lower part
widens as it intersects the bottom rigid platen.
However, its upper part interacts with no rigid
boundary and is not kinematically constrained as
it intersects the flexible boundary. A fragment of
the upper part of the persistent shear band is
selected far from the flexible boundary where the
(a) (b) stress boundary condition imposes a local static
constraint. As shown in Fig. 8, the selected frag-
ment is covered by the window ABCD. It is
assumed to be representative of the shear bands
within granular masses of infinite dimension. The
window ABCD has its own local system of co-
ordinates (5, n). The shear band is parallel to the
t-axis and segments AB and CD, and normal to
the q-axis and segments AD and BC. There are
about twelve average particles in the < and rl
directions. The size of the window ABCD was
selected to emphasize the motion of the particles
inside the shear bands. Larger windows were

Cd)
Fig. 7. Displacement of particle centres at four different
axial strains: (a) E** = 4%; (b) cZZ= 6%; (c) sZZ=
12% ; (d) sZZ = 226%

Displacement ,field
Figure 7 shows the displacements u of the par-
ticles at four axial strains s2=. The amplitudes of
the displacement vectors are scaled independently
of their absolute value. The displacements u at
&22 = 4% are measured from the particle pos-
itions at s22 = 0%. They generate a field of con-
stant strain (i.e. the horizontal and vertical
components, u, and uyr of the displacement vary
linearly with the x and y co-ordinates). The x and
y axes intersect at point 0 that is slightly to the
left of the sample centre. The displacements are
maximum on the top and bottom platens. The
particle displacements at E== = 6%, 12% and
22.6% are taken from the positions at the begin-
ning of strain localization (c2= = 4%). At 6%
axial strain (Fig. 7(b)), two shear bands form an
X, intersecting at point 0 and making angles 0 of
52” 5 1“ and 38” + 1” with the horizontal axis.
According to the MohrCoulomb theory, 0 =
r-t/4 _t $12, whereas according to Arthur, Dunstan Fig. 8. Tangential displacement within the shear band at
& Al-Ani (1977) 0 = n/4 + (4 + +)/4. The Mohr- Q2 = 22%%
606 BARDET AND PROUBET

found to yield similar results on average quan-

tities such as strain and displacement.
5r

Calculution of interpolated displacement

A continuous displacement field u(X, Y) is cal-
culated by linearly interpolating the discrete dis-
placement u(Xi, x) of the particle centres. Apart
from the linear interpolation, no other approxi-
mation is made for defining this continuous field.
Any point M initially at position (X, Y) within
the sample belongs to a particle or to a void
between particles. In any case, it belongs to a tri- D -10 -5 0 5 10 A
‘I /Rfr
angle generated by three particles. Within the
smallest triangle containing M, the x-component Fig. 9. Average tangential displacement across the shear
of displacement is band at E** = 6%, 8%, 12% and 226%

u,(X, Y) = uX + bY + c (14)
band is difficult to detect
from iis. It becomes
where the three constants a, b and c are found by clear at &22 = 8% when a ramp is formed : UC is
solving the following linear system constant outside the shear band and varies lin-
early inside it. The ramp function keeps a similar
u, = nX, + bY, + c
shape but its amplitude is greater for s2= = 12%
u2 = ax, + bY2 + c (15) and 22%.
u, = ax, + bY, + c I The thickness of the shear band is determined
from the width of the ramp in the q-direction. It is
where (X,, Y,), (X2, Y2) and (X,, Y3) are the about 18 times the mean grain radius R, at
initial positions of the centres of the three par- E22 = 8% and decreases to 15 times R, at s2= =
ticles surrounding M, and u,, u2 and u3 are the 12% and 22.6%. The shear band does not
x-components of their displacement. thicken as suggested by Vardoulakis & Aifantis
(1989).

Tangential displacement
Figure 8 shows a three-dimensional view of the Inclination ofdisplacement with respect to shear
tangential displacement IQ in the window ABCD band
at s22 = 22.6%. The equation for ug is The angle c( between the particle displacement
and the shear band is shown in Fig. IO in the
~~(5, ‘I) = n, fly - ny n, (16) window ABCD of Fig. 8. Thus
where n, and ny represent the unit vector normal
to the shear band. Lengths and displacements are r(& q) = arctan s (18)
normalized with the mean particle radius R,. I u<I
The three-dimensional plot of Fig. 8 is drawn where u,, is the particle displacement normal to
from the best viewing point, disregarding the pro- the shear band (i.e. u,, = u,n, + uyny). Equation
portions and orientation of the window ABCD in (18) implies that a varies between 0” and 90’. In
Fig. 8. The three-dimensional plot can be oriented
and scaled by using the points A, B, C and D. As
shown in Fig. 8, ug is constant outside the band
and varies almost linearly across the shear band.
The variation of ug is not strictly continuous:
there is a small plateau that has the width of a
particle just beneath the crest of Fig. 8.
Since the displacement ug varies mainly in the q
direction but slightly in the < direction, it is useful
to define the average ii< of ug in the 5 direction

(17)

Fig. 9 shows the variation of ii< in terms of n for Fig. 10. Inclination of displacement field with respect to
different axial strains 1-:22.At sz2 = 6%, the shear shear band direction at eZ2 = 226%
 PERSISTENT SHEAR BANDS IN GRANULAR MEDIA 607

Fig. 10, a a smooth and regular pattern

that delineates of the
uy
8. Outside a is constant. Inside
of a is close
to is expected to the of
the
is calculated by averaging
n) as i&(n)
in equation As shown in Fig.
of E== = 6%, 8%
and 22%. The Ccprofiles move to the right as the
shear band moves downwards. The shear band Fig. 12. Distribution of volumetric strain e, in the whole
thickness evaluated from Fig. 11 coincides with sample at sZZ = 226%
the one calculated from Ur .
actually calculated by the numerical computa-
tions.
Volumetric strain Figure 13(a) shows a typical example of a dilat-
Figure 12 shows the continuous field of volu- ancy mechanism. The shaded area in Fig. 13(a)
metric strain s,(X, Y) for the whole sample at represents the volume of the neighbourhood of
c 22 = 22.6%. The value of s,(X, Y) is interpolated
from the discrete values of E, calculated at the
particle centres by using G in equation (11). The
maximum values of 6,(X, Y) occur inside the
shear band, with very large local extrema reach-
ing -93% and 102%. These extrema are ex-
cessively large compared with the average
volumetric strain of Fig. 6. They are generated by
granular mechanisms such as those sketched in
Fig. 13. These mechanisms identified inside the
assembly of particles are not hypothetical but are
(a)

c-3E

(‘4

D 10 -5 0 5 10 A Fig. 13. Three examples of mechanisms of grain defor-

‘i 1 Rrr
mation generating excessively large dilatancy and con-
Fig. 11. Average inclination of displacement field with tractancy: (a) dilatancy by shear; (b) dilatancy by
respect to shear band direction at eZZ= 6%, 8% and intrusion of particles F and D; (c) inversion by intrusion
226% of particles C and d
608 BARDET AND PROUBET

the particle labelled a. The particle F pushes C area

and B, which creates a void and expands the 0
shaded area. The neighbourhood of particle a
if di > R, + r
cannot dilate for ever; it eventually becomes
unstable and collapses when particle F falls into XR,2
the void that it has created. Ai = if di < r - R,
Figure 13(b) illustrates a mechanism of appar- (20)
ent dilatancy. Particle F moves upward between
B and b while particles E and D push A. The $ (0, - sin 0,) + G (0, - sin 0,)
intrusion of particles D and F into the neighbour-
hood of particle a expands the shaded area. The (. ifr-R,<d,<R,+r
intrusion mechanism causes extremely large local
dilatancy when E, is calculated from G. But the where di is the distance between M and the centre
dilatancy is fictitious since it does not increase the of the ith particle, and where
void ratio.
Figure 13(c) illustrates the inversion mechan-
ism. Particle A moves between particles a and b,
(21)
while particle d moves between D and a. The
relative motion of particles A and b causes the
inversion of the neighbourhood of particle a.
Prior to the inversion, the volume of the neigh- Figure 15 shows the continuous fields of void
bourhood collapses almost entirely, which ratio in the whole specimen at sz2 = 0% and
accounts for the large compaction noticed in Fig. 22.6%. The radius r of the sample was arbitrarily
12. The inversion of the neighbourhood of the fixed at three times the mean particle radius (r =
particles causes fundamental problems in contin- 3R,). There is no clear pattern in the distribu-
uum mechanics. Future research is needed to tions of e at &22= 0% and 22.6%. The average
comprehend its consequences in soil mechanics. void ratios are 0.3915 and 0.4045 for e2Z = 0%
and 22.6% respectively. These average void ratios
imply that the volumetric strain E, is equal to
Void ratio
0.9%, which is in agreement with F, in Fig. 6, cal-
In an attempt to circumvent the problems
culated using equation (1 I). However, the dis-
arising in the determinantion of t:” from G, it is
tribution of E, calculated from e would be as
proposed to calculate E, from the void ratio e.
The numerical determination of e is inspired from
the y-ray absorption technique that measures the
material density in the path of a beam. As shown
in Fig. 14, the void ratio e in the circular sample
of radius r and centre M is
n

i=l
e= (19)

i:, Ai

where n is the total number of particles and Ai is

r
the area of the ith particle covering the sampling (al

(b)
Fig. 15. Distribution of void ratio in the whole specimen:
Fig. 14. Calculation of local void ratio (a) eZZ= 0% ; (b) et2 = 226%
 PERSISTENT SHEAR BANDS IN GRANULAR MEDIA 609
irregular as the distribution of e in Fig. 15 and the rotation matrix R
would not exhibit the shear bands of Fig. 7.

1
In two-dimensional materials, the volumetric cos U sin 0
R=V-lG= (24)
strain calculated from e or G is not appropriate -sin0 cos0
to detect shear bands. Dilatancy cannot induce
large density changes since the voids collapse due In the case of infinitesimal deformation, R is
to the mechanisms of intrusion and inversion. approximately the antisymmetric part of G; the
This observation is in disagreement with the infinitesimal macro-rotation 0 is
radiographic measurements of shear bands on 0 = w2, = )(G,, - G,,) (25)
real sands (Desrues, 1984; Vardoulakis & Graf,
1985). As in the case of G, the macro-rotation I) is
defined at the particle centre.

ROTATION OF PARTICLES AND

NEIGHBOURHOOD Particle rotation and macro-rotation
This section describes the rotations of particles The macro-rotation 0 and the particle rotation
and of small clusters of particles, referred to as 0’ are represented in Fig. I6 by using solid angles
macro-rotations. centred at the particles. As shown in Fig. 16(a), 0
is concentrated in the shear bands at s2= = 12%.
The average rotation 0,“’ of a particle is defined
Mucro-rotation
by averaging 0” for the particle and its neigh-
A macro-rotation characterizes the rigid-body
bours. As shown in Fig. 16(b), O,,’ is smaller than
rotation of a particle neighbourhood. It is calcu-
O’, and it persists inside the shear bands and dis-
lated by decomposing the local deformation gra-
appears outside them. The rotations 0, 8” and 0,,’
dient have similar spatial distributions which are con-
G=VR (27-I
centrated in the shear bands. Macro-rotation 0
and particle rotation 8’ have identical sign, but 0
where R is a rotation matrix and V is a sym- is smaller than 0’. The particles rotate in the same
metric matrix. By invoking the Cayley-Hamilton direction as their neighbourhood, but with more
theorem for the two-dimensional space, V is intensity.
As shown in Fig. 17, O’, 0,“’ and 0 are more
1
v= widely spread at s22 = 22.6% than at s2= = 12%.
[trace(GGr) + 2 det(G)]ij2 However, 0,“” is still concentrated in the shear
x [GGT + det(G)l] bands and clearly delineates shear bands. The
(23)
similarity of the distributions for 0 and 0’ implies
where G’ is the transpose of G. Therefore, the that the rotation of particles and their macro-
macro-rotation 0 of a particle is obtained from rotation are related.

. . i.
.‘. . .
A .

::_ - .
:.. .
...
-.
..
: _ .

-.
.

(4 (b)
Fig. 16. Rotations at eZZ= 12%: (a) tP, rotation of particles (max. 366’); (b) @,,‘, average rotation of particles (max.
100’; (c) 0, macro-rotation (max. 44”)
610 BARDET AND PROUBET

:. - .._
7,

: . : A ”

(8 @I Cc)
Fig. 17. Rotations at err = 226%: (a) tP, rotation of particles (max. 352’); (b) O,,‘, average rotation of particles (max.
225”); (c) e, macro-rotation (max. 156”)

Average rotations in the shear band field. This observation supports the assumption
The continuous field of rotation @(X, Y) is cal- made by Miihlhaus & Vardoulakis (1987) that
culated in the same way as the displacement field, particles do not rotate outside the shear band.
by linearly interpolating the discrete rotations 0’. The difference between (7 and t? oscillates about
The average value bc of O’(X, Y) across the band zero and is less than 20”.
is defined as i+(q). Similar definitions apply to the
macro-rotations 0.
Gradient of particle rotation (curvature)
Figure 18 shows the variation of the rotations 0
and 0’ across the shear band at E== = 22.6%. As The particle rotations are also characterized by
observed in Figs 16 and 17, the particles rotate in the gradient K, referred to as the curvature tensor
the same direction as their neighbourhood, but in the Cosserat theory (Miihlhaus & Vardoulakis,
with less intensity. The particle rotation 0’ 1987)
reaches 43” in the middle of the shear band, while Ki = (j.1.c (26)
4 is 24”. The rotations outside the shear bands are
smaller than lo”, and are opposite to the rota- The particle-rotation gradient K is calculated in
tions within the shear band. The distance between the same way as the local deformation gradient,
the two points across the shear band where t? = by using a linear regression of the relative rota-
0 is exactly 15 times R,. This width coincides tion of the particles surrounding a given particle.
with the one found by using the displacement The continuous field of curvature K(X, Y) is
obtained by linearly interpolating K at the parti-
cle centres.
Figure 19 shows a three-dimensional view of
the amplitude 11K 11= (K,= + ~~~~~~~ of K in the
whole specimen at E== = 22.6%. The amplitude
/IK // is expressed in radians per unit of length. It
varies in sharp spikes which reach a maximum
value of 0.093. This means that the relative rota-
tion between two neighbouring particles of radius
R, may reach 200”. The spikes of 11K /I are con-
centrated in the shear bands; 11K I/ does not vary
as continuously as the particle rotation 0”.
Figure 20 shows the average curvature 112II
across the shear band of the window ABCD at
D -10 -5 0 5 10 A F.22 = 6%, 12% and 226%. The average curva-
q/R, ture 11 ii II is defined in the same way as the
Fig. 18. Rotation of particles and neighbourhoods across average displacement, by averaging I/K // in the <-
the shear band at sZZ= 226% direction. This calculation of K(q) introduces less
 PERSISTENT SHEAR BANDS IN GRANULAR MEDIA 611

/
/

//I
I
I
i
\
\
\
\
\
‘A__/’

(a) (b)
Fig. 19. Gradient of particle rotation in the whole
1” 10
sample at cZ2 = 226%
/’
.-
r -.
‘\

error than the differentiation of t?(n) with respect

to ‘I. The value of II i )I is practically negligible at
E 22 = 6%. It increases uniformly inside the shear
band at s2= = 12%. It becomes less uniform at
E22 = 22.6% and has a sharp maximum within
the shear band, four times the value outside the
band. The rotation gradient plays an important
role in characterizing the deformation inside the Cd)
shear bands, supporting the Cosserat description
inside shear bands.

ORIENTATION OF CONTACTS
Figure 21(a) shows the polar distribution of the
contact orientation in the whole specimen at
- 4%. The length of the solid angle l$‘,
:ilOO] is proportional to the percentage of con-
tacts that are oriented between p and p + lo”.
The polar distribution is symmetric since the
contact orientation is defined between 0 and 180”.
The specimen contains a total of n = 2000 balls
and n, = 4251 contact points. The co-ordination Fig. 21. Contact orientation in the whole specimen: (a)
number mvr which is the average number of con- E22 = 4% (n = 2000, II~= 4251, m, = 4251); (b) &rZ=
tacts per particle, is 4.251. The contacts are not 226% (n = 2000, n. = 3874, m, = 3874); (c) szZ =
randomly oriented but are slightly polarized in 226%, inside shear band (n = 105, n, = 201, m, =
the vertical direction as a result of the axial 3829); (d) sZZ = 226%, outside shear band (n = 144,
loading. Fig. 21(b) shows the distribution of a, = 296, m, = 4.111); (e) samples inside and outside
contact orientation in the whole specimen at shear band

&22 = 22.6%. Comparable to the one at s2= =

Fig. 20. Variation of average gradient of particle rota-
tion across the shear band at eZ2 = 6%, 12% and 226%
4%, it indicates that the contacts are more ori-
ented in the vertical than the horizontal direction
as the result of the anisotropy induced by the
loading (Rothenburg & Bathurst, 1989). The
number of contacts decreases substantially in the
whole sample: n, = 3874 and m, = 3.874.
Figure 21(c) and (d) show the distributions
inside and outside the band within the averaging
areas of Fig. 21(e). The area inside the band con-
tains n = 105 particles and n, = 201 contacts,
while the one outside the band beneath the top
platen contains n = 144 particles and 296 con-
tacts. The value of m, is lowest inside the band: it
is 3.82, compared with 4.10 outside the band and
612 BARDET AND PROUBET

3.874 in the whole specimen. Inside the band, the normal and tangential components
contacts parallel to the shear band increase, while of contact force
those inclined horizontally decrease. This obser- .x-y components of the jth contact
force on the ith particle
vation does not pertain to the contacts outside
local deformation gradient
the band: as shown in Fig. 21(d), they are normal initial height of the sample
but not parallel to the shear band. It is concluded normal and tangential stillness of
that strain localization significantly disturbs the contact
induced anisotropy of the contact orientation % number of contacts on the particle p
within particulate media. m” co-ordination number
n,’ number of contacts on the ith parti-
cle
ni,x (II,‘,‘, fly’.‘) unit vector of the jth contact on the
CONCLUSION
ith particle
The structure of persistent shear bands in gra-
R rotation matrix of neighbourhood
nular materials has been analysed by numerical radius of sampling area for void
simulation of the response of an idealized ratio calculation
assembly of two-dimensional particles. The dis- radius of the ith particle
placement, volumetric strain, void ratio, rotations mean radius of particles
of the particles, rotations of their neighbourhoods part of S,
and contact orientation have been examined perimeter of area <,
inside the shear band. The width of the shear displacement
average tangential displacement
band decreases with axial strain from 18 to 15
across band
times the average particle radius. The local defor-
tangential and normal displacement
mation gradient gives unrealistic values of dilat- symmetric part of G
ancy because of granular mechanisms such as V sampling area in deformed configu-
intrusion and inversion. The changes of void ratio ration
in two-dimensional materials do not reveal shear K sampling area in reference configu-
bands. The voids are unstable and collapse inside ration
the shear band. The contacts are oriented in the M‘ZI component of rotation
direction of the shear band and their number per position in deformed configuration
particle is minimal. The rotation of particles, the x, y” co-ordinates in reference configu-
ration
gradient of their rotation, and the rotations of
XI, Y, co-ordinates of the ith particle in
their neighbourhoods are concentrated inside the reference configuration
shear bands. The numerical simulations outline r(5, v) inclination of displacement with
the importance of particle rotations inside shear respect to shear band
bands and support the micropolar description of AF,, AF, change of contact force
granular assemblies. Ah change of sample height
An. As reiative displacement of particles at
contact
axial strain and infinitesimal strain
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS tensor
The financial support of the National Science volumetric strain
Foundation (grants CBT-8615160 and MSM rotation of particle neighbourhood
8657999) is acknowledged. The Authors thank constant for void ratio calculation
P. Cundall for providing a copy of his program rotation of the ith particle
BALL. gradient of particle rotation
amplitude of K
local co-ordinates in window ABCD
Cauchy stress
NOTATION friction angle
A, area for void ratio calculation intergranular friction angle
di distance between centres of the ith peak and residual friction angle
particle and sampling area
dX, relative position of neighbours in
reference configuration
relative position of neighbours in REFERENCES
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