DOI： https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2026.108636

Authorship：Corresponding author  

DOI： https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2025.107709

Authorship：Lead author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)  

DOI： 10.1061/jggefk.gteng-13362

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.trgeo.2025.101628

Authorship：Lead author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.partic.2025.03.001

Authorship：Lead author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Emerald  

DEM analyses are conducted to quantify how the statistical dispersion of the particle morphology influences stress transmission and strain energy storage of granular materials. DEM samples are prepared with both linear and bimodal size distributions and compressed isotropically. Additionally, mixtures of particle shapes are used by covering a wide range of aspect ratios. The DEM results indicate that the contact dynamics are influenced significantly by size dispersion, with fine particles in the system tending to not transmit stress. More elongated particles are found to gain more contacts and substantially contribute to stress transmission. To rationalise these phenomenological findings, the results are interpreted in terms of the elastic strain energy characteristics of the DEM samples, by treating the latter as elastic granular continua. The analysis reveals that the fraction of strain energy stored in the particle fractions scales linearly with the particle size only at relatively narrow size dispersion, thus underscoring the need for corrective factors dependent on dispersion metrics (e.g., the coefficient of uniformity). A similar concept is examined also with reference to shape fractions, showing that a scaling relation based on the surface area of the particles provides a satisfactory corrective coefficient to account for non-spherical shapes.

DOI： 10.1680/jgele.24.00056

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Emerald  

Small-strain shear stiffness (G₀) is an essential parameter to predict deformation characteristics and dynamic properties of granular materials. It is empirically known that G₀ increases with decreasing a void ratio (e₀) and increasing isotropic stress level (). Recently, the effect of particle shape on G₀ has been studied; however, the mechanism underlying the evolution of G₀ is not fully understood. Using the discrete element method (DEM), this contribution quantifies the G₀ of granular materials by performing small-strain probing where multi-sphere clumped particles are used to vary particle shape and surface topology systematically. The Hertzian contact theory is applied for each sphere-element contact to capture the stress-dependent contact stiffness. The results reveal that G₀ is well correlated with e₀ or mean coordination number for a given particle shape; however, G₀ is measurably reduced when finer sphere-elements dominate inter-particle contact responses. The present study proposes two contact-scale expressions of G₀ for non-spherical particles based on contact area (CA) and micromechanical effective medium theory (EMT) by extending the EMT expression for spherical particles; both can capture the effects of particle shape and on G₀ under given conditions where particle breakage does not occur.

DOI： 10.1680/jgeot.23.00042

Authorship：Corresponding author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.compgeo.2024.106873

Authorship：Lead author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

DOI： 10.1007/s10035-024-01472-w

Other Link： https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10035-024-01472-w/fulltext.html

Authorship：Corresponding author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.powtec.2024.120078

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier BV  

DOI： 10.1016/j.compgeo.2024.106342

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

<jats:p> This contribution provides high-fidelity images of real granular materials with the aid of X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT), and employs a multi-sphere representation to reconstruct non-spherical particles. Through discrete-element method (DEM) simulations of granular samples composed of these non-spherical clumps, the effect of particle shape on the macroscopic mechanical response and microscopic soil fabric evolution is examined for soil assemblies under triaxial compression. Simulation results indicate that materials with more irregular particles tend to show higher shear resistance in both peak and critical states, while exhibiting higher void ratio under isotropic loading conditions and in the critical state. The proposed critical state parameters for describing the sensitivity of the mean coordination number to confining pressures are larger as particles become more irregular. At a microscopic level of observation, directional and scalar parameters of particle contacts are sensitive to predefined particle shapes. More irregular materials appear to exhibit higher fabric anisotropy with respect to particle orientation in the critical state, while the branch vector is affected by both contact modes and particle shape. The critical stress ratio from the simulation results is validated by comparing with experimental results, and further found to be linearly linked to the shape-weighted fabric anisotropy indices. </jats:p>

DOI： 10.1680/jgeot.23.00162

Authorship：Corresponding author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.compgeo.2024.106235

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1007/s11440-023-02190-y

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.sandf.2024.101443

Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

<jats:p>It is empirically known that the packing property and mechanical responses of cohesionless granular materials are influenced by grain shape. For example, the attainable range of void ratio depends on grain shape; angular materials tend to exhibit greater friction angles. Besides, shear wave velocity (<jats:italic>V<jats:sub>s</jats:sub></jats:italic> ) and small-strain shear modulus (<jats:italic>G<jats:sub>0</jats:sub></jats:italic> ) of sphere assemblies are affected by surface roughness. However, consensus has yet to be reached on the combined effect of grain shape and surface roughness on <jats:italic>G<jats:sub>0</jats:sub></jats:italic> and stress-strain relation. This contribution aims to evaluate the shape-roughness combined effect on the strain-dependent mechanical responses of granular materials. Three groups of glass beads having different grain shapes and a silica sand were used, and their grain surfaces were roughened through a systematic procedure using a milling machine. In total, eight materials were subjected to triaxial compression after measurement of <jats:italic>V<jats:sub>s</jats:sub></jats:italic>. The experimental results reveal that the stress-strain relation of angular particles is remarkably affected by the surface roughness, whereas the roughness effect on the stress-dependent variation in <jats:italic>G<jats:sub>0</jats:sub></jats:italic> is limited for angular particles.</jats:p>

DOI： 10.1051/e3sconf/202454405006

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.jrmge.2022.12.004

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier {BV}  

DOI： 10.1016/j.sandf.2021.101092

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier {BV}  

DOI： 10.1016/j.compgeo.2021.104560

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-031-11898-2_204

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier {BV}  

DOI： 10.1016/j.powtec.2021.04.068

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.compgeo.2021.104043

Scopus

Authorship：Lead author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1007/s11440-020-01023-6

Scopus

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.apm.2020.09.019

Scopus

Authorship：Lead author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.compgeo.2020.103772

Scopus

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.compgeo.2018.11.024

Scopus

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.compgeo.2018.01.004

Scopus

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1002/nag.2785

Scopus

Presentation type：Symposium, workshop panel (nominated)  

Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)