Quasistatic rheology and the origins of strain

Jean-Noël Roux (1) , Gaël Combe (1)

1 LMSGC - Laboratoire des matériaux et structures du génie civil

Features of rheological laws applied to solid-like granular materials are recalled and confronted to microscopic approaches via discrete numerical simulations. We give examples of model systems with very similar equilibrium stress transport properties -- the much-studied force chains and force distribution -- but qualitatively different strain responses to stress increments. Results on the stability of elastoplastic contact networks lead to the definition of two different rheological regimes, according to whether a macroscopic fragility property (propensity to rearrange under arbitrary small stress increments in the thermodynamic limit) applies. Possible consequences are discussed.

Mots clés: strain; constitutive law; numerical simulations

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

Jean-Noël Roux, Gaël Combe. Quasistatic rheology and the origins of strain. Comptes Rendus. Physique, 2002, 3 (2), pp. 131-140. ⟨hal-00354256⟩