Compression and breakage properties of glass beads: insights from experimental and DEM simulation

The properties of compression and breakage have a significant impact on the strength and deformation of particulate materials, thereby impacting the overall life-cycle stability of engineering projects. This study investigates the compression and breakage properties of glass beads through laboratory tests and numerical simulation, subjected to different terminated vertical stresses varying from 1 MPa up to 96 MPa. The one-dimensional compression test is conducted first. The experimental results indicate that the variations in the stress–strain relationship with particle size cannot be ignored when discussing the compressibility of glass beads. A modified compression model considering the influence of particle size is proposed to describe the connection between void ratio and vertical stress. Three-dimensional expressions are established to describe the correlations among the fractal dimension (or particle breakage), vertical stress, and particle size. Additionally, for further research at the microscopic scale, a numerical simulation model of glass bead assemblies is developed. A set of numerical simulations is executed to investigate the micro properties employing the discrete element method (DEM). The validation of the microscopic parameters for the glass bead specimen model is achieved by comparing them to the results from laboratory one-dimensional compression tests. Crack variation, force chain changes, velocity fields, and displacement fields of the glass beads specimen model are discussed. It provides strong support for investigating the compression and breakage properties of granular soils from the macro- and microscopic scales.