DEM modeling of unsaturated geomaterials for predicting resilient modulus

Abstract

Soil suction and the degree of saturation influence the resilient modulus. A suction stress model that incorporates both suction and degree of saturation can be applied to the resilient modulus. To evaluate the effect of suction stress on resilient modulus, water effects were categorized into bulk and meniscus water, and cyclic loading was applied to the samples. The soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) was generated using discrete element method (DEM) analysis. Additionally, the resilient modulus was observed to vary with both deviator stress and the degree of saturation. The trends observed in this study are consistent with the results of other researchers. These findings demonstrate that the water division and cyclic loading algorithm effectively represent the unsaturated soil state, and DEM analysis revealed that suction stress influences the resilient modulus, with the resilient modulus increasing as suction stress increased.