Clay micromechanics : an analysis of elementary mechanisms of clay particle interactions to gain insight into compression behaviour of clay

Tarantino, Alessandro and Casarella, A. and Pedrotti, M. and Di Donna, Alice and Pagano, A. and de Carvalho Faria Lima Lopes, B. and Magnanimo, Vanessa; Barla, Marco and Di Donna, Alice and Sterpi, Donatella, eds. (2021) Clay micromechanics : an analysis of elementary mechanisms of clay particle interactions to gain insight into compression behaviour of clay. In: Challenges and Innovations in Geomechanics - Proceedings of the 16th International Conference of IACMAG - Volume 1. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering . Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 183-201. ISBN 9783030645144 (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64514-4_13)

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Abstract

The macroscopic response of geomaterials is controlled by the processes occurring at the microscale. Understanding these processes is key to interpret experimental data, understand fundamental modes of stress-strain behaviour, inform ‘continuum’ macroscopic constitutive models, and develop quantitative predictive tools based on Discrete Element Method (DEM) approaches. Unlike granular materials, mechanisms at the particle scale controlling macro-mechanical behaviour of clays are still largely ignored. This paper presents an analysis of elementary mechanisms of clay particle interactions with the aim of gaining an insight into behaviour of clay and advance the process of defining suitable contact laws to be implemented into DEM formulations.