Numerical simulation of the quicksand phenomenon by a 3D coupled Discrete Element ‐ Lattice Boltzmann hydromechanical model |
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| Authors: | Mouloud Mansouri Moulay Said El Youssoufi François Nicot |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Département de Génie Civil, Université Ferhat Abbas Setif 1, Setif, Algeria;2. LMGC ‐ UMR 5508, Université de Montpellier ‐ CC048, Montpellier, France;3. Laboratoire de Micromécanique et d'Intégrité des Structures (MIST), IRSN‐CNRS‐Université de Montpellier, France;4. Université Grenoble‐Alpes, IRSTEA, Unité de Recherche ETNA, Domaine Universitaire, France |
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| Abstract: | This paper deals with the numerical simulation of the quicksand phenomenon using a coupled Discrete Elements – Lattice Boltzmann hydromechanical model. After the presentation of the developed numerical model, simulations of ascending fluid flow through granular deposits are performed. The simulations show that the quicksand actually triggers for a hydraulic gradient very close to the critical hydraulic gradient calculated from the global analysis of classical soil mechanics, that is, when the resultant of the applied external pressure balances submerged weight of the deposit. Moreover, they point out that the quicksand phenomenon does not occur only for hydraulic gradients above the critical hydraulic gradient, but also in some cases with slightly lower gradients. In such cases, a more permeable zone is first gradually built at the bottom of the deposit through a grain rearrangement, which increases the hydraulic gradient in the upper zones and triggers the phenomenon. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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| Keywords: | granular soils discrete element method mollecular dynamics lattice Boltzmann fluid‐solid interaction quicksand |
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