Dynamic mechanical behavior of frozen soil using smoothed particle hydrodynamics

Abstract

With the increasing number of projects in cold regions and the widespread use of artificial freezing methods, conducting research on the dynamic properties of frozen soil has become a considerable issue that cannot be avoided in permafrost engineering. Currently, the numerical simulation research on the dynamic mechanical behavior of frozen soil is less concerned with the changes in stress, strain, and particle damage inside the material. The necessary conditions for conducting this study are compatible with the core idea of smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH). In this study, the Eulerian SPH method was modified to address numerical oscillations and errors in solid mechanics, particularly impact dynamics problems. A numerical scheme for simulating the split Hopkinson pressure bar test was developed within the modified Eulerian SPH framework and implemented using self-programming. The frozen soil dynamic mechanical behavior was simulated under three strain rates. The accuracy and superiority of the SPH method were verified through calculations and experiments. The simulation captures the stress and strain responses within the sample at different moments during the impact process, indicating that the frozen soil strain rate-strengthening effect resulted from microcrack expansion and inertial effects.