Micromechanical investigation of a 2-D granular material with respect to structure evolution and loading paths

The paper examines the evolution of microstructure and contact forces in a two-dimensional analogue granular material consisting of photoelastic disks under various loading paths. Several stress (strain) paths together with stress (strain) probes are performed in the context of biaxial element tests, and the resulting strain (stress) response envelopes are determined. This is a more objective way of evaluating the stress-strain behaviour of …