dc.contributor.author	Wang, Jianfeng	en
dc.contributor.committeechair	Dove, Joseph E.	en
dc.contributor.committeecochair	Gutierrez, Marte S.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Kriz, Ronald D.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Filz, George M.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Mauldon, Matthew	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Wang, Linbing	en
dc.contributor.department	Civil Engineering	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-03-14T20:10:39Z	en
dc.date.adate	2006-05-05	en
dc.date.available	2014-03-14T20:10:39Z	en
dc.date.issued	2006-04-21	en
dc.date.rdate	2007-05-05	en
dc.date.sdate	2006-04-24	en
dc.description.abstract	The interphase is a localized region adjacent to a manufactured inclusion that is surrounded by granular soil. These regions are ubiquitous in civil infrastructure and often are components of large-scale composite systems. The interphase region influences load-deformation behavior of the entire composite system. However, mechanisms that control the mechanical behavior of the interphase region and, in turn, control the composite structure behavior, are not clearly understood. Few relationships exist for predicting interphase behavior from properties of granular materials and the inclusion surface that can be measured in the laboratory. A two dimensional discrete element model of a general interphase system was developed and validated against laboratory data. Numerical experiments are conducted with varying soil to inclusion relative geometry. A new micromechanics-based approach, which utilizes microscopic quantities to explain the mechanics of granular media from a continuum point view, is adopted to investigate the mechanisms that underlie the interphase behavior. It is shown that the grain to inclusion surface relative geometry controls the degree of granular media strength mobilization by controlling development of fabric and contact force anisotropy inside the interphase region. A unique bilinear relationship exists between the mobilized granular media strength and the principal direction of average contact force anisotropy at the interface between the particles touching the surface and the inclusion. These findings suggest the problem is one of contact and can not be solved using purely geometric correlations, as past research presumed. A fundamental mechanism of behavior, long sought in geomechanics problems, is presented. Publications resulting from this research are significant and original contributions to the geoengineering, material science, geophysics and granular physics literature.	en
dc.description.degree	Ph. D.	en
dc.identifier.other	etd-04242006-210518	en
dc.identifier.sourceurl	http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-04242006-210518/	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10919/27216	en
dc.publisher	Virginia Tech	en
dc.relation.haspart	Chapter-2.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	Frontmatter.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	Chapter-1.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	Chapter-3.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	Chapter-4.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	Chapter-5.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	Chapter-6.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	Chapter-7.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	Appendix.pdf	en
dc.rights	In Copyright	en
dc.rights.uri	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/	en
dc.subject	interface strength	en
dc.subject	particulate-solid interaction	en
dc.subject	microscopic deformation	en
dc.subject	interphase behavior	en
dc.title	Micromechanics of Granular Media: A Fundamental Study of Interphase Systems	en
dc.type	Dissertation	en
thesis.degree.discipline	Civil Engineering	en
thesis.degree.grantor	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	en
thesis.degree.level	doctoral	en
thesis.degree.name	Ph. D.	en

Micromechanics of Granular Media: A Fundamental Study of Interphase Systems

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