CFD-DEM study of saturated granular media; applications to fault gouge

Abstract eng:
In this paper, we present CFD-DEM simulations of stick-slip in dry and saturated granular media. The geometry of the CFD-DEM model is based on the loading geometry of the earthquake machine of Penn. State University, where granular layers under biaxial loading are tested. In our 3D CFD-DEM simulations, the particles are confined between two rough plates, compressed laterally, and sheared at constant velocity. The CFD-DEM results show nonlinear behavior of granular media caused by frictional weakening in the fault gouge leading to slip. We compare simulations in dry and saturated (drained) cases to characterize the influence of pore pressure and fluid-particle interactions. The macroscopic friction signal, kinetic energy, layer thickness, pore pressure and slip event rate, characteristics of the system, are recorded and analyzed. The aim is to characterize the influence of fluids on the frictional behavior of system during the stick-slip cycles.

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