Crack propagation mechanism in rounded cohesive granular media

Abstract

This work investigates the influence of cohesion on the aspect of fracture and crack propagation in 2D rounded cohesive granular packing simulated by the molecular dynamics method involving simple contact laws with adhesion. 2D numerical "Brazilian" test with samples of 8000 identical radius circular particles suggest that the formation of crystallized agglomerates within samples depends on the value of the cohesive energy between particles. The agglomerate size is increased when the surface energy increases. In the testing phase and for the high values of surface energy, the fissures appear at the agglomerate interfaces in the center of sample and propagate toward to the periphery in parallel to the compressive direction.