FEM modeling of the sandpile dip effect

• Main Authors: Carvalho Isadora Cota, Santos Diego, Atman A. P. F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: EDP Sciences 2017-01-01
• Series: EPJ Web of Conferences
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201714002017

Previously, it was shown that the pressure “dip” in the stress profile observed at the bottom of sandpiles prepared by successive avalanches can be related with the skewness effect observed inthe stress response of sheared granular layers to a localized vertical overload. Here, we present a FEM study of the sandpile dip effect using an alternative geometry (“wagon”) to build the pile, considering a simplified anisotropic elastic model, with an orthotropy angle. We explore the effect of different boundary conditions and grid coarsening on numerical stress response profiles. Our results indicate that the wagon geometry combined with partially fixed boundary condition may describe better experimental results than the conical geometry, a remark which can contribute for better comprehension of this effect.