Novel SPH SIMSAND-based approach for modeling of granular collapse

Abstract

Granular collapse is a common issue in natural hazards. This paper proposes a novel numerical approach on modeling granular column collapse. A newly developed critical state-based constitutive model, SIMSAND, was adopted to combine with the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method for realistically reproducing large deformation during collapse. A rectangular channel and two-dimensional column tests were first simulated for the validation. The effects of aspect ratio and initial soil density were further investigated by additional simulations. It was demonstrated that the novel SPH-SIMSAND approach is helpful in improving the understanding of granular collapse and should be an effective computational tool for the analysis of real-scale granular flow.