Factors Influencing Quasistatic Modeling of Deformation and Failure in Rock-Like Solids by the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Method

Abstract EN

As a Lagrangian mesh-free numerical method, the Smoothed ParticleHydrodynamics (SPH) method has been traditionally applied formodeling astrophysics, fluid flows and thermal problems, and therehas been a growing interest in applying SPH to solid deformationproblems.

However, the potential of this method for quasistaticanalysis of rock-like brittle materials has not been clearlyexplored.

The major aim of this paper is to investigate theeffects of key factors in SPH on the load-deformation response ofrock-like solids, including variations in the particleapproximation theory, the magnitude of the smoothing length andits variable method.

Simple uniaxial compression (UC) loadingconditions were chosen, and a series of numerical studies werecarried out sequentially on an idealized elastic case and anactual test of marble material.

Typical results of the axialstress-strain response from infinitesimal to finite deformation aswell as the progressive failure process for the marble tests aregiven and the influences of various factors are discussed.

It isfound that only provided proper choices of particle momentumequation and the smoothing length parameter, the SPH method iscapable for favorably reproducing the deformation and progressivefailure evolution in rock-like materials under quasistaticcompression loads.