Micromechanical modeling for inherent anisotropy in granular materials

In this paper, a description of inherent anisotropy of soil, based on micromechanics framework, is presented. The problem is formulated by assuming that sliding of two contact particles governed by Coulomb criterion in which the friction angle is a function of the orientation of the interparticle contact. The orientation distribution of these parameters is described by a set of symmetric second-order tensors. The formulation of the problem is illustrated by simulations of Santa Monica Beach Sand under true triaxial tests. In particular, the directional dependence of the strength characteristics is examined for samples with inherent cross anisotropy. The orientations of failure planes between particles are also examined. © 2010 ASCE.