AUTHOR=Zhao Xiaolong , Zhu Jungao , Wu Yunlong , Jia Yun , Bur Nicolas , Colliat Jean-Baptiste , Bian Hanbing 

TITLE=Experimental Study and DEM Simulation of Size Effects on the Dry Density of Rockfill Material

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physics

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physics/articles/10.3389/fphy.2022.837727

DOI=10.3389/fphy.2022.837727

ISSN=2296-424X

ABSTRACT=The initial dry density has a significant effect on the mechanical behavior of rockfill material (RFM). The size effects on the minimum/maximum dry density (referred to as dry density, ρ_d) of RFM still need further study. To investigate the relationship between ρ_d and d_M, a series of dry density tests and DEM simulations are performed on the samples with different maximum particle sizes d_M. Both the physical and numerical results exhibit that ρ_d increases fast when d_M ranges from 10 to 40 mm. When d_M exceeds 40 mm, ρ_d increases slowly and tends to be a constant. Results indicate that ρ_d is affected by the gradation. To consider the gradation effect, a normalized parameter λ is introduced, and the relation between ρ_d and d_M can be characterized by an empirical equation.