The paper contains an overview of the results obtained in a research project exploring the ability of 3D DEM models to reproduce cone penetration in sands. The sand whose behaviour is mimicked by the discrete material ...

In this papera 1-D model simulation of the middle section of Canister Retrieval Test, conducted at the Áspo Hard Rock Laboratory, is presented. The model considers the MX-80 bentonite block, the bentonite-rock interface ...

A cross-anisotropic formulation for elasto-plastic constitutive models based on a non-uniform scaling of the stress tensor is described. Taking advantage of the material symmetries characterising cross-anisotropy, only two ...

Imperial College London is researching with BP some potential impacts of future climate change. BP has a significant number of facilities in cold high-latitude regions, where global climate models predict significant rises ...

Coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) analyses have been used to examine the interacting phenomena associated with the simultaneous heating and hydration of an engineered bentonite barrier placed in a drift excavated in ...

Strain localization can be defined as the accumulation of deformations in narrow zones, in the form of shear bands or cracks, commonly observed in several geomaterials like concrete, rocks, dense sands, or stiff fine-grained ...

This paper tackles the issues related to the excavation of a horizontal gallery carried out in Boom clay, a tertiary clay that hosts the Underground Laboratory of the Belgium Nuclear Agency (SCK-CEN). The gallery is 85 m ...

In this study oedometric compression tests of hydrocarbon coke, Fontainebleau sand and silica sand are simulated in three dimensions using breakable particles. The method adapts a rigorous breakage criterion for elasto-brittle ...

The discrete element method (DEM) is increasingly gaining acceptance as a modelling tool for engineering problems of direct geotechnical relevance. One area for which the method seems naturally well adapted is that of ...