GENERAL FORMULATION

1-1

1 GENERAL FORMULATION
1.1 Notation and Conventions All vector and tensor quantities are expressed using indicial notation with respect to a xed righthanded rectangular Cartesian coordinate system. Thus, the position vector is denoted by xi , and the stress tensor is denoted by ij , where it is understood that all indices range over the set {1, 2, 3} for the three-dimensional case, and the set {1, 2} for the two-dimensional case. The Einstein summation convention is employed; thus, the repetition of an index in a term denotes a summation with respect to that index over its range. For example, the traction vector ti , acting in the direction ni , is given by ti = ij nj = i1 n1 + i2 n2 + i3 n3 . Vertical braces denote the magnitude of a vector or the absolute value of a scalar. A dot over a variable indicates a derivative with respect to time (e.g., xi = xi /t). The Kronecker delta and permutation symbol are employed. Their basic denitions are reviewed here using the notation from Fung (1977). The Kronecker delta, ij , is dened as ij = The permutation symbol, eij k , is dened as 0, if 2 indices coincide; +1, if i, j, k permute like 1, 2, 3 ; 1, otherwise 1, if i = j ; 0, otherwise (1.1)

eij k =

(1.2)

The Kronecker delta and the permutation symbol are related by the identity eij k eist = j s kt j t ks (1.3)

Note that the cross-product operation between two vectors a and b produces a vector c that is perpendicular to both a and b and can be written using the permutation symbol as a b = ci = eij k aj bk (1.4)

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Theory and Background

1.2 The PFC 3D Particle-Flow Model A general particle-ow model simulates the mechanical behavior of a system comprised of a collection of arbitrarily shaped particles. (Note that the term particle, as used here, differs from its more common denition in the eld of mechanics, where it is taken as a body whose dimensions are negligible and therefore occupies only a single point in space. In the present context, the term particle denotes a body that occupies a nite amount of space.) The model is composed of distinct particles that displace independent of one another, and interact only at contacts or interfaces between the particles. If the particles are assumed to be rigid, and the behavior of the contacts is characterized using a soft contact approach, in which a nite normal stiffness is taken to represent the measurable stiffness that exists at a contact, then the mechanical behavior of such a system is described in terms of the movement of each particle and the inter-particle forces acting at each contact point. Newtons laws of motion provide the fundamental relationship between particle motion and the forces causing that motion. The force system may be in static equilibrium (in which case, there is no motion), or it may be such as to cause the particles to ow. More complex behavior can be modeled by allowing the particles to be bonded together at their contact points such that, when the inter-particle forces acting at any bond exceed the bond strength, that bond is broken. This allows tensile forces to develop between particles. One can then model the interaction of these bonded blocks, including the formation of cracks that may cause blocks to fragment into smaller blocks. PFC 3D provides a particle-ow model containing the following assumptions: 1. The particles are treated as rigid bodies. 2. The contacts occur over a vanishingly small area (i.e., at a point). 3. Behavior at the contacts uses a soft-contact approach where the rigid particles are allowed to overlap one another at contact points. 4. The magnitude of the overlap is related to the contact force via the forcedisplacement law, and all overlaps are small in relation to particle sizes. 5. Bonds can exist at contacts between particles. 6. All particles are spherical. However, the clump logic supports the creation of super-particles of arbitrary shape. Each clump consists of a set of overlapping particles that acts as a rigid body with a deformable boundary. The assumption of particle rigidity is a good one when most of the deformation in a physical system is accounted for by movements along interfaces. The deformation of a packed-particle assembly (or a granular assembly such as sand), as a whole, is well-described by this assumption, since the deformation results primarily from the sliding and rotation of the particles as rigid bodies and the opening and interlocking at interfaces, and not from individual particle deformation. Precise modeling of particle deformation is not necessary to obtain a good approximation of the mechanical behavior for such systems.

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In addition to traditional particle-ow applications, PFC 3D can also be applied to the analysis of solids subjected to prescribed boundary and initial conditions. In such models, the continuum behavior is approximated by treating the solid as a compacted assembly of many small particles. Measures of stress and strain rate can be dened as average quantities over a representative measurement volume for such systems. This allows one to estimate interior stresses for granular materials such as soils, or solid materials such as rock or plastics formed by powder compaction. In addition to spherical particles, referred to hereafter as balls, the PFC 3D particle-ow model also includes walls. Walls allow one to apply velocity boundary conditions to assemblies of balls for purposes of compaction and connement. The balls and walls interact with one another via the forces that arise at contacts. The equations of motion are satised for each ball. However, the equations of motion are not satised for each wall (i.e., forces acting on a wall do not inuence its motion). Instead, its motion is specied by the user and remains constant regardless of the contact forces acting on it. Also, contacts may not form between two walls; thus, contacts are either ball-ball or ball-wall.

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Theory and Background

1.3 Distinct-Element Method PFC 3D models the movement and interaction of stressed assemblies of rigid spherical particles using the Distinct-Element Method (DEM). The DEM was introduced by Cundall (1971) for the analysis of rock-mechanics problems and then applied to soils by Cundall and Strack (1979). A thorough description of the method is given in the two-part paper by Cundall (1988) and Hart et al. (1988), and in the UDEC manual (Itasca 2004). PFC 3D is classied as a discrete element code based on the denition in the review by Cundall and Hart (1992), since it allows nite displacements and rotations of discrete bodies (including complete detachment), and recognizes new contacts automatically as the calculation progresses. PFC 3D can be viewed as a simplied implementation of the DEM because of the restriction to rigid spherical particles. (The general DEM can handle deformable polygonal-shaped particles.) Only those aspects of the DEM applicable to PFC 3D will be presented here; refer to the above papers for a more general description. In the DEM, the interaction of the particles is treated as a dynamic process with states of equilibrium developing whenever the internal forces balance. The contact forces and displacements of a stressed assembly of particles are found by tracing the movements of the individual particles. Movements result from the propagation through the particle system of disturbances caused by specied wall and particle motion and/or body forces. This is a dynamic process in which the speed of propagation depends on the physical properties of the discrete system. The dynamic behavior is represented numerically by a timestepping algorithm in which it is assumed that the velocities and accelerations are constant within each timestep. The solution scheme is identical to that used by the explicit nite-difference method for continuum analysis. The DEM is based upon the idea that the timestep chosen may be so small that, during a single timestep, disturbances cannot propagate further from any particle than its immediate neighbors. Then, at all times, the forces acting on any particle are determined exclusively by its interaction with the particles with which it is in contact. Since the speed at which a disturbance can propagate is a function of the physical properties of the discrete system, the timestep can be chosen to satisfy the above constraint. The use of an explicit, as opposed to an implicit, numerical scheme makes it possible to simulate the nonlinear interaction of a large number of particles without excessive memory requirements or the need for an iterative procedure. The calculations performed in the DEM alternate between the application of Newtons second law to the particles and a force-displacement law at the contacts. Newtons second law is used to determine the motion of each particle arising from the contact and body forces acting upon it, while the force-displacement law is used to update the contact forces arising from the relative motion at each contact. The presence of walls in PFC 3D requires only that the force-displacement law account for ball-wall contacts. Newtons second law is not applied to walls, since the wall motion is specied by the user.

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1.4 Calculation Cycle The calculation cycle in PFC 3D is a timestepping algorithm that requires the repeated application of the law of motion to each particle, a force-displacement law to each contact, and a constant updating of wall positions. Contacts, which may exist between two balls, or between a ball and a wall, are formed and broken automatically during the course of a simulation. The calculation cycle is illustrated in Figure 1.1. At the start of each timestep, the set of contacts is updated from the known particle and wall positions. The force-displacement law is then applied to each contact to update the contact forces based on the relative motion between the two entities at the contact and the contact constitutive model. Next, the law of motion is applied to each particle to update its velocity and position based on the resultant force and moment arising from the contact forces and any body forces acting on the particle. Also, the wall positions are updated based on the specied wall velocities. The calculations performed in each of the two boxes of Figure 1.1 can be done effectively in parallel. The force-displacement law is described rst, followed by a description of the law of motion. The development is for the three-dimensional case.
le partic ate d

+ wall positions and set of

up

cont acts

Law of Motion (applied to each particle) resultant force + moment

ForceDisplacement Law (applied to each contact) relative motion constitutive law

contact forces

Figure 1.1

Calculation cycle in PFC 3D

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Theory and Background

1.4.1 Force-Displacement Law The force-displacement law relates the relative displacement between two entities at a contact to the contact force acting on the entities. For both ball-ball and ball-wall contacts, this contact force arises from contact occurring at a point (modeled using the soft-contact approach of Section 1.2). For ball-ball contact, an additional force and moment arising from the deformation of the cementatious material represented by a parallel bond can also act on each particle. Only the calculation of the contact force arising from the contact at a point is described in this section; refer to Section 2.1.1.5 for the parallel-bond calculation. The force-displacement law operates at a contact and can be described in terms of a contact point, xi[C] , lying on a contact plane that is dened by a unit normal vector, ni . The contact point is within the interpenetration volume of the two entities. For ball-ball contact, the normal vector is directed along the line between ball centers; for ball-wall contact, the normal vector is directed along the line dening the shortest distance between the ball center and the wall. The contact force is decomposed into a normal component acting in the direction of the normal vector, and a shear component acting in the contact plane. The force-displacement law relates these two components of force to the corresponding components of the relative displacement via the normal and shear stiffnesses at the contact. The force-displacement law is described for both ball-ball and ball-wall contacts. For ball-ball contact, the relevant equations are presented for the case of two spherical particles, labeled A and B in Figure 1.2. For ball-wall contact, the relevant equations are presented for the case of a spherical particle and a wall, labeled b and w, respectively, in Figure 1.3. In both cases, U n denotes overlap.

A
R
[A]

B
R d ni xi
[C]

[B]

xi

[B]

xi

[A]

contact plane

Figure 1.2

Notation used to describe ball-ball contact

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w b
xi
[C]

xi ni d

[b]

[b]

Figure 1.3

Notation used to describe ball-wall contact

For ball-ball contact, the unit normal, ni , that denes the contact plane is given by xi[B] xi[A] ni = d

(ball-ball)

(1.5)

where xi[A] and xi[B] are the position vectors of the centers of balls A and B, and d is the distance between the ball centers. d = xi[B] xi[A] = xi[B] xi[A] xi[B] xi[A]

(ball-ball)

(1.6)

For ball-wall contact, ni is directed along the line dening the shortest distance, d, between the ball center and the wall. This direction is found by mapping the ball center into a relevant portion of space dened by the wall. The idea is illustrated in Figure 1.4 for a two-dimensional wall composed of two line segments, AB and BC. All space on the active side of this wall can be decomposed into ve regions by extending a line normal to each wall segment at its end points. If the ball center lies in region 2 or 4, it will contact the wall along its length, and ni will be normal to the corresponding wall segment. However, if the ball center lies in region 1, 3, or 5, it will contact the wall at one of its end points, and ni will lie along the line joining the end point and the ball center. (For the

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three-dimensional convex polygonal walls in PFC 3D, the above idea is extended such that the ball may contact the wall at a vertex, along an edge joining two wall segments, or on a face.)
1 ni(1) 2 ni(2)

B
ni(4)

3 ni
(3)

A
ni(5) 5

Figure 1.4

Determination of normal direction for ball-wall contact

The overlap U n , dened to be the relative contact displacement in the normal direction, is given by R [A] + R [B] d, R [b] d, (ball-ball) (1.7) (ball-wall)

U =
n

where R [

is the radius of ball

The location of the contact point is given by x [A] + R [A] 1 U n ni , i 2 [b] x + R [b] 1 U n ni , i 2 (ball-ball) (1.8) (ball-wall)

xi[C] =

The contact force vector Fi (which represents the action of ball A on ball B for ball-ball contact, and the action of the ball on the wall for ball-wall contact) can be resolved into normal and shear components with respect to the contact plane as

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Fi = Fin + Fis where Fin and Fis denote the normal and shear component vectors, respectively. The normal contact force vector is calculated by Fin = K n U n ni

(1.9)

(1.10)

where K n is the normal stiffness [force/displacement] at the contact. The value of K n is determined by the current contact-stiffness model (see Section 2.1.1.1). Note that the normal stiffness, K n , is a secant modulus in that it relates total displacement and force. The shear stiffness, k s , on the other hand, is a tangent modulus in that it relates incremental displacement and force (see Eq. (1.18)). An uppercase K will be used to denote a secant modulus, and a lowercase k will be used to denote a tangent modulus. The computation of the normal contact force from the geometry alone makes the code less prone to numerical drift, and able to handle arbitrary placement of balls and changes in ball radii after a simulation has begun (used in the compaction algorithm, described in Section 3.2.2.1 in the Users Guide). Also, Eq. (1.7) is evaluated in double precision. The shear contact force is computed in an incremental fashion. When the contact is formed, the total shear contact force is initialized to zero. Each subsequent relative shear-displacement increment results in an increment of elastic shear force that is added to the current value. The motion of the contact must be considered during this procedure. Motion of the contact is accounted for by updating ni and xi[C] every timestep. Since the shear contact force vector Fis is stored as a vector in global coordinates, it must also be updated to account for contact motion. Fis is updated by calculating two rotations: the rst is about the line common to the old and new contact planes; and the second is about the new normal direction. The equations assume that the rotations are small. The rst rotation is expressed by Fis = Fjs ij eij k ekmn n[old] nn m (1.11)

rot.1

where n[old] is the old unit normal to the contact plane. The second rotation is expressed by m Fis = Fjs ij eij k k t (1.12)

rot.2

rot.1

where k is the average angular velocity of the two contacting entities about the new normal direction

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Theory and Background

i =
[ where i
j]

1 [ j 2

1]

[ + j

2]

nj ni

(1.13)

is the rotational velocity of entity {

1 2

given by (ball-ball) (ball-wall)

}=

{A, B}, {b, w},

(1.14)

The relative motion at the contact, or the contact velocity Vi (which is dened as the velocity of ball B relative to ball A at the contact point for ball-ball contact, and the velocity of the wall relative to the ball at the contact point for ball-wall contact), is given by

Vi = xi[C]

xi[C]

(1.15) = xi[
2]

[ + eij k j

2]

[C] [ xk xk

2]

xi[

1]

[ + eij k j

1]

[C] [ xk xk

1]

[w] where xi[ ] is the translational velocity of entity j from Eq. (1.14). (Note that i is the rotational velocity of the wall with respect to xi[w] , the center of rotation of the wall.)

The contact velocity can be resolved into normal and shear components with respect to the contact plane. Denoting these components by Vin and Vis for the normal and shear components, respectively, the shear component of the contact velocity can be written as Vis = Vi Vin = Vi Vj nj ni

(1.16)

The shear component of the contact displacement-increment vector, occurring over a timestep of t, is calculated by Uis = Vis t and is used to calculate the shear elastic force-increment vector, Fis = k s Uis (1.18) (1.17)

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where k s is the shear stiffness [force/displacement] at the contact. The value of k s is determined by the current contact stiffness model. The shear stiffness is a tangent modulus, and is thus denoted using a lowercase k. The new shear contact force is found by summing the old shear force vector at the start of the timestep (after it has been rotated to account for the motion of the contact plane) with the shear elastic force-increment vector Fis = Fis + Fis (1.19)

rot.2

The values of normal and shear contact force determined by Eqs. (1.10) and (1.19) are adjusted to satisfy the contact constitutive relations, described in Section 2. After this adjustment, the contribution of the nal contact force to the resultant force and moment on the two entities in contact is given by Fi[ Fi[ Mi[ Mi[ where Fi[ ] and Mi[ given by Eq. (1.9).
j j] 1]

Fi[ Fi[ Mi[ Mi[

1]

Fi + Fi (1.20) eij k xj[C] xj[ + eij k xj[C] xj[

1]

2]

2]

1]

1]

Fk

2]

2]

2]

Fk
j

are the force and moment sums for entity

from Eq. (1.14), and Fi is

1.4.2 Law of Motion The motion of a single rigid particle is determined by the resultant force and moment vectors acting upon it, and can be described in terms of the translational motion of a point in the particle and the rotational motion of the particle. The translational motion of the center of mass is described in terms of its position, xi , velocity, xi , and acceleration, xi ; the rotational motion of the particle is described in terms of its angular velocity, i , and angular acceleration, i . The equations of motion can be expressed as two vector equations: one relates the resultant force to the translational motion; and the other relates the resultant moment to the rotational motion. The equation for translational motion can be written in the vector form

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Theory and Background

Fi = m(xi gi )

(translational motion)

(1.21)

where Fi is the resultant force, the sum of all externally applied forces acting on the particle; m is the total mass of the particle; and gi is the body force acceleration vector (e.g., gravity loading). The equation for rotational motion can be written in the vector form: Mi = Hi (1.22)

where Mi is the resultant moment acting on the particle, and Hi is the angular momentum of the particle. This relation is referred to a local coordinate system that is attached to the particle at its center of mass. If this local system is oriented such that it lies along the principal axes of inertia of the particle, then Eq. (1.22) reduces to Eulers equation of motion: M1 = I1 1 + (I3 I2 )3 2 M2 = I2 2 + (I1 I3 )1 3 M3 = I3 3 + (I2 I1 )2 1 where I1 , I2 , and I3 are the principal moments of inertia of the particle; 1 , 2 , and 3 are the angular accelerations about the principal axes; and M1 , M2 , and M3 are the components of the resultant moment referred to the principal axes. For a spherical particle of radius R, whose mass is distributed uniformly throughout its volume, the center of mass coincides with the sphere center. Any local-axis system attached to the center of mass is a principal-axis system, and the three principal moments of inertia are equal to one another. Thus, for a spherical particle, Eq. (1.23) can be simplied and referred to the global-axis system as Mi = I i =
2 2 5 mR

(1.23)

(rotational motion)

(1.24)

The equations of motion, given by Eqs. (1.21) and (1.24), are integrated using a centered nitedifference procedure involving a timestep of t. The quantities xi and i are computed at the mid-intervals of t n t/2, while the quantities xi , xi , i , Fi , and Mi are computed at the primary intervals of t n t. The following expressions describe the translational and rotational accelerations at time t in terms of the velocity values at mid-intervals. The accelerations are calculated as

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xi

(t)

1 (t+ xi t 1 (t+ i t

t/2)

xi

(t t/2)

(1.25) i =
(t) t/2)

(t t/2)

Inserting these expressions into Eqs. (1.21) and (1.24), and solving for the velocities at time (t + t/2), results in Fi + gi m
(t) Mi (t)

(t+ t/2) xi

(t t/2) xi

t (1.26)

(t+ t/2)

= i

(t t/2)

Finally, the velocities in Eq. (1.26) are used to update the position of the particle center as xi
(t+ t)

= xi + xi

(t)

(t+ t/2)

(1.27)

The calculation cycle for the law of motion can be summarized as follows. Given the values of (t t/2) (t t/2) (t) (t+ t/2) (t+ t/2) (t) (t) , i , xi , Fi and Mi , Eq. (1.26) is used to obtain xi and i . Then, xi (t+ t) (t+ t) (t+ t) Eq. (1.27) is used to obtain xi . The values of Fi and Mi , to be used in the next cycle, are obtained by application of the force-displacement law.

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Theory and Background

1.5 Boundary and Initial Conditions In general, loading of the ball assembly is by gravity and/or wall movement. The gravitational acceleration is specied with the SET gravity command. Also, additional boundary and initial conditions can be specied for both walls and balls with the WALL, PROPERTY, FIX, and FREE commands. For each wall, both the translational and rotational velocities can be specied. Note, however, that an applied force cannot be specied. The wall velocities are specied by the following three [w] parameters: translational velocity, xi[w] , rotational velocity, i , and center of rotation, xi[w] . These parameters are specied using the WALL command. The wall motion is determined by updating the position of every point, P , dening the wall using an equation similar to Eq. (1.27), in which the velocity of point P , whose position is denoted by xi[P] , is calculated by
[w] [P] [w] xk x k xi[P] = xi[w] + eij k j

(1.28)

For each ball, both an applied force and/or moment acting through its center and an initial velocity (translational and rotational) can be specied using the INITIAL command. The applied force and/or moment remains constant throughout the simulation (being added to the current force and/or moment sum before integrating the law of motion). If the ball velocities are not xed with the FIX command, they will be altered automatically during the next timestep, based on the contact forces and the integration of the law of motion. Only the xed velocity components are kept constant throughout the simulation (i.e., Eq. (1.26) is not applied to these components). The xed components can be released with the FREE command.

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1.6 Mechanical Timestep Determination The equations of motion are integrated in PFC 3D using a centered nite-difference scheme expressed by Eqs. (1.25) and (1.26). The computed solution produced by these equations will remain stable only if the timestep does not exceed a critical timestep that is related to the minimum eigen-period of the total system. However, global eigenvalue analyses are impractical to apply to the large and constantly changing systems typically encountered in a PFC 3D simulation. Therefore, a simplied procedure is implemented in PFC 3D to estimate the critical timestep at the start of each cycle. The actual timestep used in any cycle is taken as a fraction of this estimated critical value. This fraction can be specied using the SET safety fac command. 1.6.1 Estimation Procedure for Solution Stability First, consider a one-dimensional mass-spring system described by a point mass, m, and spring stiffness, k, with the coordinate system shown in Figure 1.5. The motion of the point mass is governed by the differential equation kx = mx. The critical timestep corresponding to a second order nite-difference scheme for this equation is given by Bathe and Wilson (1976): tcrit = where T is the period of the system. Next, consider the innite series of point masses and springs in Figure 1.6. The smallest period of this system will occur when the masses are moving in synchronized opposing motion such that there is no motion at the center of each spring. The motion of a single point mass can be described by the two equivalent systems shown in Figure 1.6(b) and (c). The critical timestep for this system is found, using Eq. (1.29), to be tcrit = 2 m/(4k) = m/k (1.30) T ; T = 2 m/k (1.29)

where k is the stiffness of each of the springs in Figure 1.6.

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Theory and Background

k m x

Figure 1.5

Single mass-spring system

....

k m

k m 2k m 2k

k m

.... (a)

(b)

4k m (c) x

Figure 1.6

Multiple mass-spring system

The preceding two systems characterize translational motion. Rotational motion is characterized by the same two systems, in which mass, m, is replaced by moment of inertia, I , of a nite-sized particle, and the stiffness is replaced by the rotational stiffness. Thus, the critical timestep for the generalized multiple mass-spring system can be expressed as m/k tran , I /k rot , (translational motion) (1.31) (rotational motion)

tcrit =

where k tran and k rot are the translational and rotational stiffnesses, respectively, and I is the moment of inertia of the particle.

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The system modeled in PFC 3D is a three-dimensional collection of discrete bodies (spherical particles and clumps) and springs. Each body may have a different mass, and each spring may have a different stiffness. A critical timestep is found for each body by applying Eq. (1.31) separately to each degree of freedom, and assuming that the degrees of freedom are uncoupled. The stiffnesses are estimated by summing the contribution from all contacts, using only the diagonal terms of the contact stiffness matrix (see Section 1.6.2). The nal critical timestep is taken to be the minimum of all critical timesteps computed for all degrees of freedom of all bodies. 1.6.2 Contact Stiffness Matrix The stiffness matrix at a contact between two clumps is given here (see Potyondy 2008 for the full derivation). Each contact of the PFC 3D model joins two discrete bodies, each of which has six degrees of freedom at its center of mass. If we refer to the centers of mass as nodes, then we can say that each contact has a stiffness matrix that relates generalized forces and displacements at the two nodes that it joins. The nodal degrees-of-freedom contain three translational components and three rotational components. The generalized displacements and forces at node i are denoted by {di } = ui vi wi xi yi zi
T T

{ri } = Fxi Fyi Fzi Mxi Myi Mzi and shown in Figure 1.7:

(1.32)

Figure 1.7

Generalized displacements and forces at node i

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Theory and Background

The stiffness matrix of a contact joining nodes a and b relates the generalized forces to the generalized displacements via Fxa ua F v ya a F w za a Mxa xa M ya ya M za za = [k] Fxb ub F yb vb F w zb b M xb xb M yb yb Mzb zb

ra rb

= [k]

da db

(1.33)

A typical contact joining two clumps is shown in Figure 1.8. The system is dened by the centers of mass of clumps a and b (xa and xb , respectively), the contact location (xc ), a unit-vector triad (n1 , n2 and n3 ) such that n3 is aligned with the contact-normal direction, and the contact translational (kn and ks ) and rotational (kn and ks ) stiffnesses, which are given by kn = k n + k n A ks = k s + k s A kn = k s J + kr ks = k n I + kr

(1.34)

where k n and k s are the contact stiffnesses; k n and k s are the parallel-bond stiffnesses; A, J and I are the area, polar moment of inertia and moment of inertia, respectively, of the parallel-bond cross section; and kr is the rotational stiffness of a user-dened model. We also dene Ra = xc xa and Rb = xc xb . The effect of viscous dashpots on the stable timestep is accounted for by modifying the contact translational stiffnesses as kn := kn /F (n )2 , ks := ks /F (s )2 F ( ) = 1 + 2 , 0 1 (1.35)

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where n and s are the critical damping ratios in the normal and shear directions, respectively. The justication for this relation, as well as the full derivation of the stiffness matrix, is provided in Potyondy (2008).

Figure 1.8

Typical DEM contact joining two clumps

The stiffness matrix is symmetric. Thus, it can be expressed as k1,1 k2,1 . . . k2,2 .. . symmetric k12,12

[k] = . . . k12,1

(1.36)

..

k11,11 k12,11

The individual terms are expressed in the global coordinate system in terms of the DEM contact quantities, and are listed as follows, with each group designating the lower-diagonal portion of a set of columns. For columns 1 to 3:

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Theory and Background

k1,1 = ks (nx1 nx1 + nx2 nx2 ) + kn nx3 nx3 k7,1 = k1,1 k2,1 = ks (ny1 nx1 + ny2 nx2 ) + kn ny3 nx3 k8,1 = k2,1 k3,1 = ks (nz1 nx1 + nz2 nx2 ) + kn nz3 nx3 k4,1 = Rya k3,1 Rza k2,1 k5,1 = Rza k1,1 Rxa k3,1 k6,1 = Rxa k2,1 Rya k1,1 k9,1 = k3,1 k10,1 = Ryb k3,1 + Rzb k2,1 k11,1 = Rzb k1,1 + Rxb k3,1 k12,1 = Rxb k2,1 + Ryb k1,1 k7,2 = k1,2 k2,2 = ks (ny1 ny1 + ny2 ny2 ) + kn ny3 ny3 k8,2 = k2,2 k3,2 = ks (nz1 ny1 + nz2 ny2 ) + kn nz3 ny3 k4,2 = Rya k3,2 Rza k2,2 k5,2 = Rza k1,2 Rxa k3,2 k6,2 = Rxa k2,2 Rya k1,2 k9,2 = k3,2 k10,2 = Ryb k3,2 + Rzb k2,2 k11,2 = Rzb k1,2 + Rxb k3,2 k12,2 = Rxb k2,2 + Ryb k1,2 k7,3 = k1,3 k8,3 = k2,3 k3,3 = ks (nz1 nz1 + nz2 nz2 ) + kn nz3 nz3 k4,3 = Rya k3,3 Rza k2,3 k5,3 = Rza k1,3 Rxa k3,3 k6,3 = Rxa k2,3 Rya k1,3 k9,3 = k3,3 k10,3 = Ryb k3,3 + Rzb k2,3 k11,3 = Rzb k1,3 + Rxb k3,3 k12,3 = Rxb k2,3 + Ryb k1,3 (1.39) (1.38) (1.37)

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For columns 4 to 6: k4,4 = ks (nx1 nx1 + nx2 nx2 ) + kn nx3 nx3 + (Rya k3,4 Rza k2,4 ) k5,4 = ks (ny1 nx1 + ny2 nx2 ) + kn ny3 nx3 + (Rza k1,4 Rxa k3,4 ) k6,4 = ks (nz1 nx1 + nz2 nx2 ) + kn nz3 nx3 + (Rxa k2,4 Rya k1,4 ) k7,4 = k1,4 k8,4 = k2,4 k9,4 = k3,4 k10,4 = ks (nx1 nx1 + nx2 nx2 ) kn nx3 nx3 + (Ryb k3,4 + Rzb k2,4 ) k11,4 = ks (ny1 nx1 + ny2 nx2 ) kn ny3 nx3 + (Rzb k1,4 + Rxb k3,4 ) k12,4 = ks (nz1 nx1 + nz2 nx2 ) kn nz3 nx3 + (Rxb k2,4 + Ryb k1,4 ) k5,5 = ks (ny1 ny1 + ny2 ny2 ) + kn ny3 ny3 + (Rza k1,5 Rxa k3,5 ) k6,5 = ks (nz1 ny1 + nz2 ny2 ) + kn nz3 ny3 + (Rxa k2,5 Rya k1,5 ) k7,5 = k1,5 k8,5 = k2,5 k9,5 = k3,5 k10,5 = ks (nx1 ny1 + nx2 ny2 ) kn nx3 ny3 + (Ryb k3,5 + Rzb k2,5 ) k11,5 = ks (ny1 ny1 + ny2 ny2 ) kn ny3 ny3 + (Rzb k1,5 + Rxb k3,5 ) k12,5 = ks (nz1 ny1 + nz2 ny2 ) kn nz3 ny3 + (Rxb k2,5 + Ryb k1,5 ) k6,6 = ks (nz1 nz1 + nz2 nz2 ) + kn nz3 nz3 + (Rxa k2,6 Rya k1,6 ) k7,6 = k1,6 k8,6 = k2,6 k9,6 = k3,6 k10,6 = ks (nx1 nz1 + nx2 nz2 ) kn nx3 nz3 + (Ryb k3,6 + Rzb k2,6 ) k11,6 = ks (ny1 nz1 + ny2 nz2 ) kn ny3 nz3 + (Rzb k1,6 + Rxb k3,6 ) k12,6 = ks (nz1 nz1 + nz2 nz2 ) kn nz3 nz3 + (Rxb k2,6 + Ryb k1,6 ) (1.42) (1.41) (1.40)

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Theory and Background

For columns 7 to 9: k7,7 = k1,1 k8,7 = k2,1 k9,7 = k3,1 k10,7 = Ryb k3,7 + Rzb k2,7 k11,7 = Rzb k1,7 + Rxb k3,7 k12,7 = Rxb k2,7 + Ryb k1,7 k8,8 = k2,2 k9,8 = k3,2 k10,8 = Ryb k3,8 + Rzb k2,8 k11,8 = Rzb k1,8 + Rxb k3,8 k12,8 = Rxb k2,8 + Ryb k1,8 k9,9 = k3,3 k10,9 = Ryb k3,9 + Rzb k2,9 k11,9 = Rzb k1,9 + Rxb k3,9 k12,9 = Rxb k2,9 + Ryb k1,9 For columns 10 to 12: k10,10 = ks (nx1 nx1 + nx2 nx2 ) + kn nx3 nx3 + (Ryb k3,10 + Rzb k2,10 ) k11,10 = ks (ny1 nx1 + ny2 nx2 ) + kn ny3 nx3 + (Rzb k1,10 + Rxb k3,10 ) k12,10 = ks (nz1 nx1 + nz2 nx2 ) + kn nz3 nx3 + (Rxb k2,10 + Ryb k1,10 ) k11,11 = ks (ny1 ny1 + ny2 ny2 ) + kn ny3 ny3 + (Rzb k1,11 + Rxb k3,11 ) k12,11 = ks (nz1 ny1 + nz2 ny2 ) + kn nz3 ny3 + (Rxb k2,11 + Ryb k1,11 ) k12,12 = ks (nz1 nz1 + nz2 nz2 ) + kn nz3 nz3 + (Rxb k2,12 + Ryb k1,12 ) (1.44) (1.43)

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1.7 Differential Density Scaling The default behavior of PFC 3D is to automatically determine the critical timestep using the procedure outlined in Section 1.6. This provides a true dynamic solution that is valid for both steady-state and non-steady-state conditions. If one is interested only in obtaining the steady-state solution (in which all particle accelerations are zero, corresponding to either static equilibrium or steady ow), differential density scaling may be used to reduce the total number of cycles required to reach the steady-state condition. It is invoked using the SET dt dscale command. (Further discussion of both differential and uniform density scaling is provided in Section 3.7.2.1 in the Users Guide.) When differential density scaling is invoked, the inertial mass of each particle is modied at the start of each cycle, such that the stability criterion of Eq. (1.31) is satised with a timestep of unity. The law of motion, given by Eqs. (1.21) and (1.24), becomes Fi = (mi )xi (mg )gi (1.45) Mi = I i = 2 (mi )R 2 i 5 where mi and mg are the inertial and gravitational masses, respectively, and R is the particle radius. mg is always equal to the actual mass of the particle and, in the absence of differential density scaling, mi = mg . The nite-difference expressions for the particle velocities given by Eq. (1.26) become Fi + mi
(t) (t)

xi

(t+ t/2)

= xi

(t t/2)

mg mi

gi

t (1.46)

(t+ t/2)

= i

(t t/2)

Mi

2 i 2 5 (m )R

When differential density scaling is active, only the nal steady-state solution is valid; transitory states do not represent the true dynamic behavior of the system. For path-dependent phenomena that involve formation of mechanisms, this may result in an incorrect steady-state solution. In general, differential density scaling will be most effective for problems in which either the stiffnesses or the masses vary widely.

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Theory and Background

1.8 Mechanical Damping Energy supplied to the particle system is dissipated through frictional sliding. However, frictional sliding may not be active in a given model or, even if active, may not be sufcient to arrive at a steadystate solution in a reasonable number of cycles. Local damping and viscous damping are available in PFC 3D to dissipate kinetic energy. Local damping acts on each ball, while viscous damping acts at each contact. Local damping applies a damping force, with magnitude proportional to unbalanced force, to each ball. Viscous damping adds normal and shear dashpots at each contact. These dashpots act in parallel with the existing contact model, and provide forces that are proportional to the relative velocity difference between the two contacting entities (ball-ball or ball-wall). By default, local damping is active, and viscous damping is inactive. For compact assemblies, local damping, using the default parameter setting, is the most appropriate form to establish equilibrium and to conduct quasi-static deformation simulations. When a dynamic simulation of compact assemblies is required, the local damping coefcient should be set to a low value appropriate to energy dissipation of dynamic waves. Alternatively, viscous contact damping should be used. For problems involving free ight of particles and/or impacts between particles, local damping is inappropriate, and viscous contact damping should be used. If the simulation is dominated by rapid impacts, then hysteretic damping (see Section 2.2.6) should be considered for realistic dissipation of energy. 1.8.1 Local Damping The local damping used in PFC 3D is similar to that described in Cundall (1987). A damping-force term is added to the equations of motion, given by Eqs. (1.21) and (1.24), such that the damped equations of motion can be written as
d F(i) + F(i) = M(i) A(i) ;

i = 1...6 for i = 1 . . . 3 ; for i = 4 . . . 6 (1.47)

M(i) A(i) =

mx(i) , I (i3) ,

where F(i) , M(i) , and A(i) are the generalized force, mass, and acceleration components, respecd tively; F(i) includes the contribution from the gravity force; and F(i) is the damping force:
d F(i) = F(i) sign V(i) ;

i = 1...6 (1.48)

sign(y) =

+1, if y > 0 ; 1, if y < 0 ; 0, if y = 0

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expressed in terms of the generalized velocity: V(i) = x(i) , (i3) , for i = 1 . . . 3 ; for i = 4 . . . 6

(1.49)

The damping force is controlled by the damping constant , whose default value is 0.7, and which can be specied separately for each particle using the DAMP local command. This form of damping has the following advantages: 1. Only accelerating motion is damped; therefore, no erroneous damping forces arise from steady-state motion. 2. The damping constant, , is non-dimensional. 3. Since damping is frequency-independent, regions of the assembly with different natural periods are damped equally, using the same damping constant. 1.8.2 Similarity to Hysteretic Damping The local damping formulation in PFC 3D is similar to hysteretic damping, in which the energy loss per cycle is independent of the rate at which the cycle is executed. This similarity is demonstrated in the following analysis. Upon examination of Eq. (1.48), it is evident that the damping force always opposes motion, but it is scaled to the resultant generalized force, unlike viscous damping, which is scaled to the magnitude of velocity. Two forms of Eq. (1.47) may be written, depending on the relative signs of F(i) and V(i) . When they are of the same sign, the equation of motion is A(i) = F(i) (1 ) M(i) (1.50)

and when they are of opposite signs, the equation of motion is A(i) = F(i) (1 + ) M(i)

(1.51)

These equations may be written in terms of apparent mass as

+ A(i) = F(i) /M(i)

and

A(i) = F(i) /M(i)

(1.52)

+ where M(i) = M(i) /(1 ) and M(i) = M(i) /(1 + ).

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Theory and Background

The motion of the single degree-of-freedom mass-spring system from Figure 1.5, when given an initial displacement such that x = a at t = 0, is shown in Figure 1.9. For such motion, the apparent mass is increased at the two times in each cycle when the velocity is zero, and reduced at the two times when the velocity is maximum. The damping operates by removing kinetic energy twice per cycle; at the point of peak velocity, part of the moving mass is removed and discarded. Note that there is no discontinuity in acceleration, since the acceleration is zero at the instant when mass is removed. The amount of energy removed per cycle is given by twice the drop in kinetic energy at point B or W(i) = 2
1 2 + 2 M(i) M(i) V(i)

(1.53)

and the mean kinetic energy at the instant of removal is W(i) =

1 4 + 2 M(i) + M(i) V(i)

(1.54)

where V(i) is the generalized velocity given by Eq. (1.49).

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ka A

a x A A

x A

.. x

apparent mass

M
B B B B

M
A' A' A' A'

M
B' B' B' B'

M
A'' A'' A'' A''

M
B'' B'' B'' B''

M
A''' A''' A''' t t t A''' t

remove |M| add |M|

Figure 1.9

Motion of single mass-spring system

The ratio of energy lost per cycle to maximum energy stored is called the specic loss (Kolsky 1963). The specic loss can be written in terms of the damping constant in PFC 3D by noting that for a single degree-of-freedom system, or for oscillation in a single mode, the peak kinetic energy is the same as the peak stored energy. Thus, the specic loss can be written as
+ 4 M(i) M(i) W(i) = = 4 + W(i) M(i) + M(i)

(1.55)

The fraction of critical damping, D, can be written in terms of the specic loss for small values of damping by D= W(i) /W(i) = 4 (1.56)

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Theory and Background

For the default value of = 0.7, the approximate fraction of critical damping is therefore 0.22. Eq. (1.55) can be veried by loading one and three stacked particles, respectively, by suddenly applied gravity, and allowing each system to oscillate to equilibrium. Both tests give approximately the same value for W/W , conrming that the damping is independent of frequency. However, for a system where multiple modes are active simultaneously, the response computed by PFC 3D may not show the same damping for each mode. Local damping is inappropriate for particles in free ight under gravity. The user may remove the damping of individual particles, using the FISH-dened variable b damp(). Local damping may also be inappropriate for systems in which large groups of particles are driven by speciedvelocity boundary conditions. In order to obtain realistic energy dissipation, it may be necessary to set all local damping coefcients to zero, and implement a hysteretic damping contact model (see Section 2.2.6) or viscous damping (see Section 1.8.3). 1.8.3 Viscous Damping Normal and shear dashpots are present at each contact (see Figure 2.1). These dashpots act in parallel (given restrictions, discussed below) with the existing contact model, as well as with possible additional bonding models (contact bonds and/or parallel bonds). A damping force is added to the contact force, of which the normal and shear components are given by Di = ci |Vi | (1.57)

where ci is the damping constant, Vi is the relative velocity at the contact, and the damping force acts to oppose motion. Note that, in this section, the subscript i refers to one of the two components of the contact force (i = n: normal, s: shear) dened in Section 1.4.1. The damping constant is not specied directly; instead, the critical damping ratio i is specied, and the damping constant satises
crit ci = i ci crit where ci is the critical damping constant, which is given by crit ci = 2mi = 2 mki

(1.58)

(1.59)

where i is the natural frequency of the undamped system, ki is the contact tangent stiffness, and m is the effective system mass. In the case of ball-wall contact, m is taken as the ball mass; in the case of ball-ball contact, m is given by

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m=

m1 m2 m1 + m2

(1.60)

where m1 and m2 are mass of ball 1 and ball 2, respectively. Viscous damping is characterized by the critical damping ratio (Ginsberg and Genin 1984, page 895). When = 1, the system is said to be critically damped (i.e., the response decays to zero at the most rapid rate). Also, = 1 represents the transition from an oscillatory response, when < 1, to an exponentially decaying response, when > 1. When < 1, the system is said to be underdamped, or lightly damped; when > 1, the system is said to be overdamped, or heavily damped. The default values for the critical damping ratios n and s are set to zero (i.e., no viscous damping force will act in the system). In order to activate the viscous damping logic on a range of existing contacts, the user must specify non-null values of n and/or s for these contacts. This is achieved either by invoking the DAMP command on the desired range of contacts, or by using FISH function c dampn or c damps. Also note that the DAMP default command may be used to specify default values of n and s , which will apply to any contact created in the future. The viscous forces are calculated after bond breakage and sliding check. The following restrictions apply: If the contact is sliding (i.e., the shear contact-model force has reached the Coulomb limit), then the viscous shear force is reduced to zero. If the viscous-damping property notension on is set for this contact, and if no contact bond or parallel bond is present at this contact, then the sum of the contact-model normal force and the viscous normal force is prevented from becoming attractive between the two involved entities. Instead, the norCM CM mal viscous force magnitude is limited by Fn , where Fn is the normal contact-model force magnitude. When viscous damping is used in a PFC 3D model in a dynamic situation, such as a free-ight simulation, appropriate viscous damping constants should be specied for the simulation to reproduce a realistic response (see Section 7 in the Verications volume). In a quasi-static situation, a damping constant may be chosen such that the calculation converges to equilibrium more quickly. However, the user should check that the inuence of viscous damping on the results is acceptable for a given situation.

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Theory and Background

1.9 References Bathe, K. J., and E. L. Wilson. Numerical Methods in Finite Element Analysis. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1976. Cundall, P. A. A Computer Model for Simulating Progressive Large Scale Movements in Blocky Rock Systems, in Proceedings of the Symposium of the International Society of Rock Mechanics (Nancy, France, 1971), Vol. 1, Paper No. II-8 (1971). Cundall, P. A. Distinct Element Models of Rock and Soil Structure, in Analytical and Computational Methods in Engineering Rock Mechanics, Ch. 4, pp. 129-163. E. T. Brown, ed. London: Allen & Unwin., 1987. Cundall, P. A. Formulation of a Three-Dimensional Distinct Element Model Part I. A Scheme to Detect and Represent Contacts in a System Composed of Many Polyhedral Blocks, Int. J. Rock Mech., Min. Sci. & Geomech. Abstr., 25(3), 107-116 (1988). Cundall, P. A., and R. Hart. Numerical Modeling of Discontinua, J. Engr. Comp., 9, 101-113 (1992). Cundall, P. A., and O. D. L. Strack. A Discrete Numerical Model for Granular Assemblies, Geotechnique, 29(1), 47-65 (1979). Fung, Y. C. A First Course in Continuum Mechanics. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1977. Ginsberg, J.H., and J. Genin. Dynamics, Second Edition. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1984. Hart, R., P. A. Cundall and J. Lemos. Formulation of a Three-Dimensional Distinct Element Model Part II. Mechanical Calculations for Motion and Interaction of a System Composed of Many Polyhedral Blocks, Int. J. Rock Mech., Min. Sci. & Geomech. Abstr., 25(3), 117-125 (1988). Itasca Consulting Group Inc. UDEC (Universal Distinct Element Code), Version 4.0. Minneapolis: ICG, 2004. Kolsky, H. Stress Waves in Solids. New York: Dover Publications, 1963. Potyondy, D. O. Stiffness matrix at a contact between two clumps. Internal technical memo for PFC Development Files, Itasca Consulting Group Inc. (August 26, 2008).

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