SIMULATION OF ROCK GRAIN BREAKAGE USING PFC2D

The most important engineering properties of coarse granular materials such as stress-strain and strength behavior, volume change and shear strength depend on the amount of grain breakages that occur when the stresses imposed on soil particles exceed their strength. Grain breakages(such as granite grains may occur even at relatively low compressive stresses) depend on the character of the individual rock grains. Experiments of grain breakages usually lead scatter data, and are time consuming to perform. A good method based on discrete element method(DEM)gives a potentially useful tool to study single grain breakage. A number of basical particles with diameters of 0.075～0.1245mm are bundled up a grain aggregate using PFC2D.Grain aggregates are used to simulate rock grain. Fractal model and size effect of breakage strength are analysed using grain aggregate based on PFC2D.Experimental data of basalt grain crushing are cited to verify the DEM simulation of the size effect of crushing strength and the modified Weibull modle.