A study of optimised network flows for prediction of force transmission and crack propagation in bonded granular media

Abstract

This thesis focuses on study bonded granular materials. We mainly analyse discrete element method simulation data for unconfined concrete specimens subjected to uniaxial tension and compression. In these systems, the contacts can support compressive, tensile and shear forces. Thus, under applied loads, a member grain can transmit tensile and/or compressive forces to its neighbours resulting in a highly heterogeneous contact force network. The objective of this thesis is two-fold. The first objective of this thesis is to develop algorithms for the identification and characterisation of two classes of force transmission patterns in these systems: (a) force chains, (b) force (energy) bottlen..