Applied Rheology 2024; 34: 20240009

Review Article

Bin Chen, Junjie Xia, Yiwei Lu*, Geping Zhang, Qinghua Liu, Jieming Hu, and Zijian Han

Evolution characteristics of calcareous sand force

chain based on particle breakage
https://doi.org/10.1515/arh-2024-0009 the probability of the force chain in the direction of the
received February 04, 2024; accepted June 07, 2024 potential shear band increases, the more obvious the shear
Abstract: Calcareous sand is easily broken under external band is.
force, which brings great difficulties to island reef engi- Keywords: calcareous sand, particle breaking, particle force
neering. Based on the particle flow program, a discrete chain, particle flow
element model that can reproduce the results of laboratory
tests is established, the large principal stress method is
introduced to identify the particle force chain, and the
bond strength between particles is increased to obtain an 1 Introduction
unbreakable model with the same initial conditions, and
different confining pressures are compared and analyzed. The macroscopic mechanical properties of granular mate-
The evolution law of the force chain of the following two rials after loading are the comprehensive reaction of par-
models establishes a macro-meso cross-scale analysis in ticle interaction on the micro level [1]. Socolar et al. [2]
the deformation process of calcareous sand, explores the proposed the concept of force chain for the first time
internal mechanism of the crushing of calcareous sand through the analysis of granular materials by discrete ele-
particles. The results show that particle breakage plays ments method, and believed that the force chain is a chain-
an important role in the evolution of the force chain. like particle string that transmits a higher force. Dantu [3]
Particle breakage will reduce the probability of the force found that the force chain was transmitted in a tree-like
chain on both sides of the axis, forcing the probability of structure through photoelastic experiments. GUO [4] ana-
the axial force chain to rise steadily. The macroscopic lyzed the relationship between the force chain and the
deviatoric stress is the external manifestation of the prob- shear band by combining the photoelastic test and the dis-
ability of the axial force chain on the meso level. The faster crete element numerical simulation. Fu et al. [5] carried
out discrete element analysis for inviscid materials, and
discussed the relationship between macroscopic deviatoric
 stress and shear band direction and force chain. Therefore,
* Corresponding author: Yiwei Lu, CINF Engineering Co., Ltd, by analyzing the evolution characteristics of the force chain
Changsha, 410019, China, e-mail: [email protected] in the unit test, it is helpful to reinterpret the connotation of
Bin Chen: Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and
macroscopic characteristics such as macroscopic deviatoric
Engineering Safety, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, China; College of Civil
Engineering and Mechanics, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, China,
stress and shear band from the mechanism [6–8].
e-mail: [email protected] In recent years, with the continuous advancement of
Junjie Xia: Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and China’s “Belt and Road” strategy, the research on a special
Engineering Safety, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, China; College of Civil marine soil-calcareous sand has been deepened. A large
Engineering and Mechanics, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, China, number of studies have shown that the special engineering
e-mail: [email protected]
mechanical properties of calcareous sand mainly come from
Geping Zhang: China Railway Seventh Group Guangzhou Engineering
Co., Ltd, Guangdong, 510700, China, e-mail: [email protected] particle breakage [9–12]. However, the current research on
Qinghua Liu: Wuhan Engineering Co., Ltd in Seven Iron, Wuhan, 430071, particle breakage of calcareous sand mainly focuses on the
China, e-mail: [email protected] measurement of particle breakage [13–15] and the influen-
Jieming Hu: College of Mechanics and Materials, Hohai University, cing factors of particle breakage [16–19]. The research on the
Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210098, China, e-mail: [email protected]
mechanism of particle breakage of calcareous sand is not
Zijian Han: Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and
Engineering Safety, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, China; College of Civil
deep enough, especially the mechanism of particle breakage
Engineering and Mechanics, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, China, at the meso level is still unclear. A set of analytical theory
e-mail: [email protected] has not been formed on the macro to micro level of particle

Open Access. © 2024 the author(s), published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
2  Bin Chen et al.

breakage [20–23]. In order to fully and deeply understand

the macroscopic mechanical properties of calcareous sand
and the internal mechanism of particle breakage, it is neces-
sary to master the evolution law of the force chain of calcar-
eous sand during the loading process and the influence of
particle breakage on the evolution law of the force chain
[24–26]. However, due to the limitations of laboratory tests,
the evolution of the force chain and particle breakage
cannot be observed in real time. On the other hand, the
discrete element method is proposed to solve the engi-
neering problems of discontinuous and inhomogeneous
media [27–30]. At the same time, the research shows that
the discrete element method provides an effective method
for studying the influence of particle breakage on the mechan-
ical properties of material aggregates from the microscopic Figure 1: Automatic stress path triaxial apparatus.
point of view [31–33].
A discrete element numerical model that can repro-
duce the results of calcareous sand laboratory tests was appearance of the instrument are shown in Figure 1. The
established, and an unbreakable model with the same diameter of the test sand sample is 39.1 mm and the height
initial conditions was obtained by increasing the bond is 80 mm. Triaxial consolidated drained shear tests were
strength between particles. The evolution law of the force carried out under confining pressures of 100, 200 and 400
chain in the loading process of the two models was com- kPa, respectively, and the strain termination condition was
pared and analyzed. The macro-meso correlation study set to 10% to obtain the macroscopic deviatoric stress–
in the deformation process was established to further strain curve of the sample.
explore the internal mechanism of calcareous sand par-
ticle breakage and the generation mechanism of macro-
scopic mechanical properties. 2.2 Numerical modeling

Due to the extremely complex shape of calcareous sand, it

is difficult to model. The study by Chen et al. [35] showed
2 Indoor experiments and that the massive and spindle-shaped particles in calcareous
sand samples accounted for more than 90%. Therefore,
numerical model according to the research results of Chen et al., several par-
ticle cluster shapes close to the two-dimensional contour of
2.1 Indoor experiments calcareous sand are constructed as shown in Figure 2. The
biaxial test was carried out based on PFC2D, with Figure 2 as
Indoor test calcareous sand samples were taken from an the particle shape, and 11,633 rigid clusters were evenly
island in the South China Sea. First, the sand samples were generated according to the porosity of 0.15, with a volume
cleaned, dried and cooled. Then, the sand samples with fraction of 25% each. The model is shown in Figure 3. After
particle size greater than 5 mm are removed according to the contact equilibrium model is given, the disc particles
the specification requirements. Since the current research with a radius of 0.15 mm are distributed in the model by
on calcareous sand is mainly in the 0.25–2 mm particle size the delivery method, and the position coordinate information
group [34], considering the influence of computational effi- of the rigid cluster and the disc particles is recorded at the
ciency, the calcareous sand of the 1–2 mm particle size same time. The disc particles with the same coordinates are
group is selected as the research object. The test instru- retained, and the rigid cluster is replaced by a flexible cluster.
ment adopts LFTD1804 automatic stress path triaxial appa- Considering the irregular shape of calcareous sand,
ratus produced by Cubic Tongda Company. The vertical this work uses the particle breakage method based on
loading range is 30 kN, the back pressure/confining pressure bounded particle model (BPM) to simulate the particle
range is between 0 and 2,000 kPa, and the pore pressure breakage of calcareous sand [36]. Taking Figure 4 as an
range is 0–2,000 kPa. The whole test process is controlled example, the initial generated particle clusters are tangent
by an automatic control system. The basic structure and to each other, and all particles are connected by black
 Evolution characteristics of calcareous sand force chain  3

Figure 4: Cluster particle model.

and the particles are broken. Or when the tangential stress

τ is greater than τ£, the particles are broken. Its specific
expression is as follows:
τ > c − σ −tan φ , (1)

where ϲ, σ− and φ are cohesion, positive compressive stress

Figure 2: Particle cluster shape. (a) Shape 1. (b) Shape 2. (c) Shape 3. (d) and internal friction angle.
Shape 4.
The model uses a flexible boundary to apply confining
pressure, and the contact bond model is used to simulate
bonding bonds. When the normal tensile stress σ− is the interaction between particles.
greater than the tensile strength, the black bond is broken

2.3 Influence of mesoscopic parameters on

the macroscopic response of the
specimen

At present, there is no unified method for the selection

of mesoscopic parameters. Many scholars at home and
abroad have proposed different solutions for parameter
calibration [37–39], but they all lack applicability, so most
scholars still use the trial and error method to calibrate the
parameters [40,41]. The so-called trial and error method is
to first determine the order of magnitude of the para-
meters according to experience, and then adjust a certain
parameter by fixing other parameters unchanged, find the
influence law of a certain parameter on the macroscopic
deviatoric stress–strain curve of the sample, and then con-
tinuously compare with the indoor test results to select the
most consistent with the actual value. Repeat this operation
until the biaxial test results are consistent with the laboratory
test results (the two are basically consistent in linearity, slope
and peak intensity) [41]. Because it involves particle breakage,
there are two sets of parameters that need to be calibrated in
this work, which are the mesoscopic parameters between
Figure 3: Biaxial test model. particles and the mesoscopic parameters inside a single
4  Bin Chen et al.

particle. In this study, some single particle parameters are

referred to the study by Cheng et al. [42], so only the micro-
scopic parameters between particles need to be calibrated.
The influence of each microscopic parameter between parti-
cles on the macroscopic response of the test is given below.

2.3.1 Effect of normal bond strength on macroscopic

deviatoric stress of specimens

The normal bond strength was 0.05, 0.5 and 5 MPa, respec-
tively. The other parameters are standard sample para-
meters. In the biaxial test, the history function in PFC2D
is used to record the macroscopic deviatoric stress–strain
curve during the loading process. As shown in Figure 5,
with the increase in the normal bond strength, the devia- Figure 6: Macroscopic deviatoric stress–strain curves of different tan-
toric stress curve of the sample has a certain fluctuation in gential bond strengths.

both linear and peak strength, but the overall effect is not
significant. strength decreases, but the residual strength after reduction
still has a small increase. Therefore, it can be considered
that the tangential bonding strength between particles has a
2.3.2 Effect of tangential bond strength on the great relationship with the peak and residual strength of the
macroscopic deviatoric stress of the specimen sample.

The tangential bond strength is 0.05, 0.5 and 5 MPa in turn.

The other parameters are standard sample parameters, 2.3.3 Influence of stiffness ratio on the macroscopic
and the results are shown in Figure 6. It can be seen deviatoric stress of the specimen
from the figure that with the increase in tangential bond
strength, the deviatoric stress of the sample increases in It can be seen from Figure 7 that with the increase in
the linear, peak and residual stages. Especially when the stiffness ratio, the initial stage of the test macroscopic
order of magnitude of the tangential bond strength is 5 deviatoric stress curve is steeper, and the corresponding
MPa, the peak strength increases greatly, and then the

Figure 5: Macroscopic deviatoric stress–strain curves of different normal Figure 7: Macroscopic deviatoric stress–strain curves of different stiff-
bond strengths. ness ratios.
 Evolution characteristics of calcareous sand force chain  5

peak value is higher. Although there is a certain fluctuation the micro-parameters of single particle strength are referred
in the residual stage, the final strength increases with the to the study by Wang et al. [43]).
increase in the stiffness ratio, which shows that the stiff-
ness ratio mainly affects the linear stage of the test curve,
and has a certain impact on the peak and residual strength,
but the impact is not significant. 2.4 Validation of numerical simulation

Figure 9 shows the comparison between the simulated and

2.3.4 Effect of effective modulus on the macroscopic experimental deviatoric stress–strain curves. When the
deviatoric stress of the specimen confining pressure is 100 kPa, the strain is in good agree-
ment at the first 5%. When the axial strain is 6–10%, the
The effective modulus is 0.72, 7.2 and 72 MPa, respectively, and deviatoric stress shows an increasing trend. The reason
other parameters are consistent with the standard sample. As may be that the relative rotation between the particles
shown in Figure 8, as with the stiffness ratio, the effective increases the deviatoric stress [44]. Under the confining
modulus affects the linearity and peak value of the test curve. pressure of 200 kPa, the simulated curve is slightly higher
But the degree of influence is greater than the stiffness ratio. than the peak strength of the laboratory test, and the post-
By repeatedly adjusting the above meso-parameters peak strength is lower, but the trend is basically the same
and continuously comparing with the indoor test results, (the maximum error rate is 14%). The degree of agreement
a set of the most suitable meso-parameter combinations is is relatively best when the confining pressure is 400 kPa.
selected. In this work, because a set of parameters is difficult Figure 10 shows the particle breakage rate of numerical simu-
to meet all working conditions, different parameters are lation under different confining pressures, and the calcula-
selected for different confining pressures. The final para- tion formula of particle breakage rate is as follows: Formula
meters are selected as shown in Tables 1 and 2 (some of (2). From Figure 10, it can be seen that the degree of particle
breakage is basically the same under the three confining
pressures when the axial strain is between 0 and 1%. When
the axial strain exceeds 1%, the degree of particle breakage
increases with the increase in confining pressure. In general,
with the increase in confining pressure, the particle breakage
of the sample is more serious, which is also in line with the
characteristics of calcareous sand particle breakage.
Nd
Cr = , (2)
Na

where Nd is the number of bond fracture, Na is the total

number of bonds.

2.5 Definition and identification of force

chains

Figure 8: Macroscopic deviatoric stress–strain curves of different effec- The force chain is the main body to bear the stress.
tive moduli. However, there is no unified definition of force chain at

Table 1: Mesoscopic parameters between particles and particles

Confining Effective Tensile Compressive Stiffness ratio Friction

pressure (kPa) modulus (MPa) strength (MPa) strength (MPa) coefficient

100 7.2 0.210 0.18 1.0 0.5

200 18 0.219 0.27 1.0 0.5
400 18 0.219 0.27 1.0 0.5
6  Bin Chen et al.

Table 2: Micro-parameters of single particle

Confining Effective Normal bonding Tangential bond Stiffness ratio Friction coefficient
pressure (kPa) modulus (MPa) strength (MPa) strength (MPa)

100 7.2 0.8 0.8 0.577 1.5

200 18 0.8 0.8 0.577 1.5
400 18 0.8 0.8 0.577 1.5

present. Peter et al. [45] defined three necessary conditions 2

σ11 + σ33 ⎛ σ11 − σ33 ⎞ + (σ )2 ,
σ1 = + 13
(4)
for force chain based on previous studies: (1) The force 2 ⎝ 2 ⎠
chain must be composed of three or more particles. (2)
The particles forming the force chain must be high stress 2σ13
tan(2θ ) = , (5)
particles (the maximum principal stress of the particles is σ11 − σ33
greater than the average stress), as shown in Formulas ∣1σ1next∣
(2)–(4). (3) The angle between the center line of the parti- cos(α ) < ≤ 1, (6)
∣1∣σ1next
cles constituting the force chain and the direction of the
major principal stress is less than a threshold (45°). As N (θ 1 , θ 2 )
P (θ 1 , θ 2 ) = . (7)
shown in Figure 11 and formulas (2)–(7), the two-way N (0° , 180°)
arrows in the figure represent the direction of the major where N is the number of particles in the sample, the
principal stress of the particles. The premise of identifying principal stress of the particles is the principal stress of
whether any two particles are in the same force chain is: the effective adjacent particles (vector), and L is the length
Taking A as the reference particle, C and B as the effective of the force chain (the number of force chain particles).
contact particles of A (satisfying formulas (2)–(7)), and The advantage of using the major principal stress to
taking B as the reference, A is also the effective adjacent identify the force chain is compared with the method of
particle satisfying formulas (2)–(7), then AB is determined using the contact force to identify the force chain. In the
to be the effective contact particles. Based on C, if A does particle system, the load borne by most particles is often
not satisfy formulas (2)–(7), then AC is invalid, and BC less than the average stress of the particle system, and the
satisfies each other, BC is valid. particles carrying greater than the average stress form a
N network (strong chain network). The method of identifying
j 1
σ1 > ∑ σ i, (3) the force chain by the major principal stress can reflect the
N i=1 1
main sharing and transmission of stress in the particle
system during loading. Therefore, this study uses the large

Figure 9: Simulation and test comparison. Figure 10: Particle breakage rate under different confining pressures.
 Evolution characteristics of calcareous sand force chain  7

The direction of the force chain is defined as shown in

Figure 13, and the direction of the force chain takes the
direction of the centroid connection of the head and tail
particles. Therefore, the direction of the force chain is cen-
trosymmetric in the range of 0–360°. Referring to the work
of Fu et al. [5], the probability of the force chain in a certain
characteristic angle interval is taken as 0–180°. Denote N
(θ 1, θ2 ) as the probability of the force chain in angles θ 1 to
θ2 , and the calculation of the probability of the force chain
in this direction is shown in equations (2)–(7).

3 Analysis of results
The force is transmitted from one particle to another par-
ticle. This process is visualized and presents a chain struc-
ture, which is intuitively called a force chain [46]. Taking
Figure 11: Force chain identification diagram. (a) B and C are effective 400 kPa as an example, Figures 14 and 15 are the spatial
contact particles. (b) A and C are effective contact particles. (c) B is
evolution of the force chain of the two models under
effective contact particles and A is effective contact particles.
typical strain. It can be seen from Figure 14 that as the
axial load is applied, the force chain mainly appears at
principal stress method to identify the force chain, and the
process of identifying the force chain can be carried out the position (a) adjacent to the loading plate at the initial
stage of loading. In order to resist the external load, the
according to Figures 11 and 12.
force chain gradually derives to the middle part. The long
force chain is gradually highlighted, which is manifested as
the penetration of the force chain, especially in the peak
stage (b). Subsequently, the spatial distribution of the force
chain tends to be stable, which is macroscopically mani-
fested as the hardening of the deviatoric stress. At this
time, the sample is in a critical state of imminent failure.
As the loading progresses, the connected force chain gra-
dually bends and breaks (c) and (d) until the specimen is
destroyed. Through the comparative analysis of the evolu-
tion of the two models, it can be seen that there is almost
no difference in the force chain distribution of the two
models at the initial stage of loading (ℇ = 0.5%), which
shows from the side that the calcareous sand particles

Figure 12: Identifying force chain flow chart. Figure 13: Force chain direction diagram.
8  Bin Chen et al.

Figure 14: The spatial distribution of the force chain under 400 kPa confining pressure of breaking model. (a) ℇ = 0.5%. (b) ℇ = 3%. (c) ℇ = 6%.
(d) ℇ = 8%.

are not broken obviously at the initial stage of loading. occurs near the loading plate, and particle breakage will
When the strain is 3%, the cross-transmission of the force redistribute the stress, resulting in different transmission
chain of the broken model is more serious (the first red modes of the force chain under the two models. By com-
in the figure), while the force chain of the unbroken model paring and analyzing Figures 14 and 15, it can also be found
is mainly transmitted along the quasi-straight line. The that particle breakage will cause the long force chain of the
reason for this phenomenon is that particle breakage first penetrating sample to break and bend (the second red in

Figure 15: The spatial distribution of the force chain under 400 kPa confining pressure of unbroken model. (a) ℇ = 0.5%. (b) ℇ = 3%. (c) ℇ = 6%.
(d) ℇ = 8%.
 Evolution characteristics of calcareous sand force chain  9

Figure 16: The probability distribution diagram of the force chain direction under 400 kPa confining pressure of breaking model. (a) ℇ = 0.0%. (b) ℇ =
2%. (c) ℇ = 6%.

the figure), so that the force chain gathers near the loading shape with a large middle and small ends (Figure 16c).
plate, resulting in local stress concentration. Finally, a By comparing and analyzing Figures 11 and 16, it can be
shear fracture zone is gradually formed along the broken seen that the probability of the force chain of the two
part of the force chain. models has undergone different changes after being sub-
In order to more clearly analyze the evolution law of jected to axial load. The force chain probability of the
force chain in the process of deformation and failure of unbroken model is larger in the two angle intervals of
calcareous sand and the influence of particle breakage on [0°, 40°] and [140°, 180°]. This shows that particle breakage
the evolution law of force chain, the probability of force will release the stress originally transmitted to both sides,
chain of two models under typical axial strain is statisti- and the probability of force chain in the main transmission
cally analyzed. By Figure 16(a), before loading, due to the direction will not change. It can also be seen from Figures
influence of confining pressure, the particle system mainly 16 and 17 that the force chains are mainly distributed in the
bears the stress on both sides, so the force chain particles [50°, 70°] and [110°, 130°] angle ranges. In order to obtain
are mainly distributed in the two angle ranges of [0°, 10°] the relationship between the microscopic force chain prob-
and [170°, 180°]. With the application of axial load, the ability and the macroscopic deviatoric stress, the evolution
internal stress of the sample is rapidly redistributed. In of the force chain probability and the deviatoric stress with
order to resist the external load together, the particle the axial strain in each characteristic angle direction is
system will spontaneously choose the path with higher compared and analyzed.
strength, but the main transfer path will still be along From Figure 18, with the increase in axial strain, the
the loading direction. Therefore, the force chain quickly probability of force chain in each characteristic angle
moves closer to the axial direction. Due to the irregular interval changes significantly with axial strain. The prob-
shape and uneven stress of calcareous sand, the particles ability of force chain in the interval of [50°, 70°] and [110°,
in contact with the loading plate are stressed at the edges 130°] is consistent with the change in macroscopic devia-
and corners, and the stress is transmitted along the path toric stress with strain, while the probability of force chain
with the highest strength. The probability of the force in the two adjacent intervals of [0°, 40°] and [140°, 180°] is
chain in this direction rises rapidly in Figure 16(b), and opposite to the development of macroscopic deviatoric stress.
then the probability of the force chain in this direction In addition, by comparing and analyzing Figures 10 and 18, it
continues to increase, and the probability of the force can be found that the more serious the particle breakage is,
chains on both sides continues to decrease, showing a the greater the probability attenuation of the force chain

Figure 17: The probability distribution diagram of force chain direction under 400 kPa confining pressure of non-breaking model. (a) ℇ = 0.0%. (b) ℇ =
2%. (c) ℇ = 6%.
10  Bin Chen et al.

Figure 19: Comparison of the evolution of force chain probability with

strain in the characteristic angle interval of unbroken model and broken
model.

probability, the biaxial compression process of calcareous

sand is divided into two stages:
(1) Linear growth stage: Before the macroscopic devia-
toric stress reaches the peak, the probability of force chain
in the interval of [50°, 70°] and [110°, 130°] increases
sharply at the mesoscopic level, and the peak value and
growth range are basically consistent with the macroscopic
deviatoric stress. The probability of force chain in the
interval of [0°, 40°] and [140°, 180°] decreases rapidly.
The larger the confining pressure is, the more serious the
particle breakage is, and the faster the decrease is. The
overall change trend is opposite to the macroscopic devia-
toric stress.
(2) Stabilization stage: After the peak value, the force
chain of each characteristic angle interval in this stage
shows the same change, and the probability of force chain
in [50°, 70°] and [110°, 130°] intervals is consistent with the
steady growth and growth rate of macroscopic deviatoric
stress. Although the probability of force chain in the range
of [0°, 40°] and [140°, 180°] has some fluctuations, the
overall trend is stable.
In order to further explore the influence of particle
breakage on the evolution mechanism of the force chain
of calcareous sand, Figure 19 shows the evolution compar-
ison of the probability of the force chain with the strain in
the characteristic angle interval of the unbroken model
Figure 18: Evolution of force chain probability with axial strain in char-
acteristic angle interval. (a) [50°, 70°] and [110°, 130°]. (b) [140°, 180°]. (c)
and the broken model (taking 400 kPa as an example, the
[0°, 40°]. conclusion is consistent under other confining pressures).
It can be seen from Figure 19 that the probability of force
chain in the unbroken model is small in the range of [50°,
between [0°, 40°] and [140°,180°] is. Therefore, combined with 70°] and [110°, 130°], while the probability of force chain in
the macroscopic deviatoric stress curve and the force chain the range of [0°, 40°] and [140°, 180°] increases obviously.
 Evolution characteristics of calcareous sand force chain  11

Figure 20: Failure modes under different confining pressures. (a) 100
kPa. (b) 200 kPa. (c) 400 kPa.

This shows that under biaxial compression conditions, con-

tinuous particle breakage reduces the force chains in the
[0°, 40°] and [140°, 180°] angle intervals, so that more loads
are borne by the force chains in the [50°, 70°] and [110°,
130°] intervals. And the more serious the particle breakage,
the greater the probability attenuation of the force chain of
[0°, 40°] and [140°, 180°]. This is also the fundamental
reason why the deviatoric stress of calcareous sand does
not decrease significantly.
For geotechnical granular materials, local strain con-
centration will occur during the loading process. As the
loading continues, this phenomenon is expanded until
the material is broken. The plastic zone after failure is
generally called shear zone, and the particles in the shear
zone are misaligned and rotated. Numerical tests show
several failure modes as shown in Figure 20. It can be
seen from Figure 20 that the higher the degree of particle
breakage, the less obvious the X-type shear band. The angle
between the shear band and the loading plate is located in
the two angle intervals of [40°, 50°] and [130°, 140°]. Since
the displacement is very small at this time, it is not obvious
at the macro level, so it is called a potential shear band (the
red line part of Figure 20). In order to explore the relation-
ship between the direction probability of the force chain
and the direction of the shear band, the change in the force
chain probability of [40°, 50°] and [130°, 140°] with the axial
strain is counted. In order to more accurately analyze the
quantitative relationship between force chain probability
and axial strain, the data of force chain probability points
in two angle intervals are fitted to create a fitting curve as
the representative value of the corresponding quantity. It
can be seen from Figure 21 that the probability of force Figure 21: Characteristic angle interval force chain probability. (a) 100
chain in [40°, 50°] and [130°, 140°] fluctuates before the kPa. (b) 200 kPa. (c) 400 kPa.
peak (strain is 2%), and the probability of force chain in
these two intervals increases rapidly after the peak. Com- force chain ([50°, 70°], [110°, 130°]) and deviatoric stress
bined with Figure 19, it can be seen that the post-peak axial tend to be stable, and the load is more borne by the force
12  Bin Chen et al.

chain in the direction of the potential shear band, resulting sample to break and bend, resulting in local stress con-
in an increase in the probability of the force chain in this centration, and finally a shear fracture zone is gradu-
direction. The faster the force chain grows, the more ally formed along the broken part of the force chain.
obvious the X-type shear band is. The shear band appears (2) The fundamental reason for the hardening of the
in the adjacent interval with more axial force chains. deviatoric stress of calcareous sand is that the particle
It can be seen from the above analysis that in the process breakage reduces the force chain on both sides of the
of biaxial compression, the probability of axial force chain axial direction, forcing the axial force chain to rise
([50°, 70°], [110°, 130°]) increases gradually, and the corre- steadily. The deviatoric stress is the external manifes-
sponding macroscopic deviatoric stress increases, both of tation of the probability of the axial force chain on the
which reach the peak at the same time. After that, the meso level.
probability of axial force chain and the deviatoric stress (3) The shear band appears in the adjacent interval of the
rise steadily. Due to the continuous increase in the macro- larger force chain, and the faster the probability of the
scopic deviatoric stress, the shear band is not obviously force chain in the direction of the shear band increases,
formed. In order to resist the external load, the force chain the more obvious the shear band is.
in the direction of the potential shear band is increasing. It
can be seen from the above analysis that in the process of Acknowledgements: The authors are thankful to the tea-
biaxial compression, the probability of axial force chain ([50°, chers of Xiangtan University for their help and guidance.
70°], [110°, 130°]) increases gradually, and the corresponding
macroscopic deviatoric stress increases, both of which reach Funding information: This study was supported by the
the peak at the same time. After that, the probability of axial National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 42207227;
force chain and deviatoric stress increase steadily, due to the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province, No.
increase in deviatoric stress on the macro level. Particle 2022JJ40586; the National Construction of High-level University
breakage plays an important role in the evolution of force Public Postgraduate project No. 202306710072.
chain. The specific performance is that particle breakage
causes the long force chain of the penetrating sample to break Author contributions: Bin Chen: writing – original draft,
and crack. The fundamental reason for the hardening of devia- methodology, data curation, and conceptualization. Junjie
toric stress is that particle breakage reduces the force chain on Xia: validation, supervision, and conceptualization. Yiwei
both sides of the axial direction, forcing the axial force chain to Lu: resources, funding acquisition, and conceptualization.
rise steadily. The deviatoric stress is the external manifestation Geping Zhang: visualization, data curation, and conceptua-
of the probability of axial force chain on the meso level. lization. Qinghua Liu: visualization and validation. Jieming
Hu: software and data curation. Zijian Han: validation and
conceptualization.

4 Conclusion Conflict of interest: The authors declare that there is no

conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article.
In this study, a numerical model that can reproduce the
indoor test results of calcareous sand is established by Ethical approval: The conducted research is not related to
using the commercial discrete element software (PFC2D). either human or animal use.
The relationship between the probability of force chain
and the macroscopic deviatoric stress and the failure Data availability statement: All data generated or ana-
mode is explored. By comparing with the probability of lyzed during this study are included in this published
force chain of the unbreakable model, the influence of article and its supplementary information files.
particle breakage on the evolution of force chain is ana-
lyzed, and the internal mechanism of particle breakage of
calcareous sand and the generation mechanism of macro-
scopic deviatoric stress are revealed. The following conclu-
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