Search

In general, modelling of the mechanical behaviour of granular materials can be divided into two categories. Firstly, there are the discrete models, where the equilibrium conditions, the kinematic conditions and the constitutive behaviour are formulated for each individual particle with respect to its surrounding particles. Secondly, there are the continuum models, where the equilibrium conditions, the kinematic conditions and the constitutive behaviour are formulated for an assembly of particles using the continuum concepts of stress and strain. The advantage of discrete models in comparison to continuum models is that the heterogeneous effects on the particle level can be described more accurately. However, for most granular structures the number of particles is very large, which causes the number of equations that has to be solved for in a discrete system to become large as well.