SOILS AND FOUNO TIONS Vol. 14, No. 1, Mar.

1974
Japanese Society of Soi l Mechanics and Foundation Engineering
A MICROSCOPIC STUDY ON SHEAR MECHANISM
OF GRANULAR MATERIALS*
H AjlME M ATSUOKA **
The s
of vi ew
hear mechanis m
in order to
ABST RACT
of granular materiais has been studied from the mic
analyz.e the basic macroscopic stress-strain relationship
rosc
of
opic
soi!.
point
For
this purpose, special direct shear tests were performed by using cylindrical rods of alumi
num and of a photoelastic substance as two-dimensional mo deis of soi!. By introduci ng
the concept of the frequency distribution of the angles "f}" of interparticle contact on the
patential sliding pl a ne (rnobil ized plane) and its variation during shear, and by eval ll at ing
the transmisslOn of interparticle force "f" and the angle "1>/' of interpart icle friction on
the same plane, the relationship between the shear resistance (,/aN : shear-normal stress
ratio) and dilatancy rate (deN/dr: normal-shear strain increment ratio), the relationship
between the shear r sistance(,/aN) and dilatancy(eN : normal strain) on the rnobilized plane,
and the like have been derived from the microscopic analysis of the behavior of grains
under shear. Based on the measured data of the change of the frequency distribution of
f} during shear and the foregoing basic stress-strain relationships, the origin of the stress
strain curve of soil has been clearly explained.
Key words: dilatancy, direct shear test, friction, microscopy, residual strength, slip sur
face, soil structure, stress-strain curve
lGe ; D6/D3
INTRODUCTION
Soil mechanics is concerned fundamentally with granular materiais. Take sand, for exam
pie. Unmistakably it is an assembly of grains and is believed to manifest its macroscopic
mechanicaI properties by reflecting the behavior of its individual constituent grains. Not
merely in sand but equaIly in elay which is made up of very fine particles, phenomena
are observed which are indicative of dilatancy and other particuIate nature. In the fieId of
soil mechanics, mauy studies seem to have phenomenalisticaIly dealt with macroscopic res
ponses of soil l1l.ass to applied externaI force without shedding light on properties inherent
to soi!. Some hold a view that properties of ali materiaIs are determined by their micro
structures. From their point of "i ew, the microscopic approach which seeks the correlation
between the micro-structure and the macro-property of soil may be found as an extremely
interesting and ambitious way of pursuing the study on soil mechanics which belongs in
the reaIm of material science.
To date, several interesting researches have been made to elucidate the macroscopic me
chanical properties of soi! on the basis of microscopic considerations of the behaviors of
* The contents Df the present paper have been partly published (Murayama and Matsuoka (1970),
Murayama and Mat suoka (1971) , Matsuoka (1972), Ma tsuoka (1973), Murayama and Matsuoka (1973).
** Assistant Professor, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto.
Written discusions on this paper should be submitted before January 1, 1975.
"30 MATSUOKA
grains which go t o make up the soil (Newland and AlIel y (1957) , Rowe (1962) , Murayama
(1'161) , Horne (1965) , Mognmi (1965), Oda (1972 . Especi ally the concept of the angle
of int t'rpar t icle contact and the fric t ion angl e bet ween par t icles adopt ed for the first time by
New lo.nd and Allely (1957) and by Rowe (1962), and t he concept of the probabil ity di stribu
ti on of the a ngle of interparticle contact created by Murayama (1964) are very interesting
f or th e present a uthor.
In t LiS paper the shear mecho.ni sm of granul ar materi als has be en studied from such a
mi croscopi c poim of view in order to analyze the basi c stre s-strain re lati on: h ip of soi!.
SPECI ME S D APPARAT US SED l N TESTS
The shear t es ts were performed by using rods of a lumin um and of a photo
e lasti c s ubstance as two-dimensional models of soi!. The aluminum rods were usecl in the
fo rm of a mixed mass of rods having two diamet ers 1. 6 and 3 mm(mixing r at io by '1ei ght
60 : 40) , having t hree diameters 3, 5 and 9 mm (mixing ratio by wei ght 40 : 35 : 25) and
having fo ur di amet ers 1. 6, 3, 5 and 9 mm (mixi ng rat io by weight 10: 40:40:10). The alumi
num rods wer e in two lengths 5 em and 3 em. T he sma ll er length was used to f acilitate
the ob er vat ion of points of contact. The rods of photoelas t ic s ubs tance (Araldi te B, 10. 7
k g/cm in photoel as t ic sensitivi t y) used in the photoelas ti c shear tes t had a uniform length
of 2 cm. They were used in the form of a mixed mass of rods having two diam ter$ 6. 2
mm anel 10 mm (mi. ing ratio by weight 60: 40). These cylinelrical rods of photoelastic
mater ial , vere ubtained f rom an Araldite plate 2 cm in th ickness by using punch cutters
wit h holl ows of predetermined inside di ameters (6.2 mm and 10 mm) .
Photo. 1. Direct shear box apparatlL'3 for rod Photo. 2. Simple shear apparatus for rod
mass mass
For the present test were used two kinds of shear test apparatus : One was of the direct
shear box t ype shown in Photo. 1 and the other was of t he simple shear type shown in
Photo. 2. In the apparat us of direct shear box type, t he s hear force (ho rizontal) was
determined by the proving r ing. In some instances, the verti cal load was exerted by
means of an iroIl weight in the shape of a cube. I n other instances, it was appli ed by a
load lever on a load plat e. T he hori zontal and ver tical displac meu s w re mea ur ed by
means of a di aI gauge. The specimens for t he shear t es t were pr epar ed in t wo different
widths, 20 cm a nd 15 cm, 50 t hat, in the case of a pile of alminum rods, about 100 points
of contact would be obtained on the shear plane to permit statistic analysis. T he specimens
were 10 cm to 13 em hi h. The change in t he granul ar structure due to s hear could be learnt
by phot ographing t he ends of the r ods. In the case of the photoel astic t est, t he transmissi on
()f interparl
Further, ti
b y fastenin
The appa
change in !
hori zont al ,
shear strair
force. Thc
The appli ec
lelogrammi
Rod-shajJe{,
The cast'j
form of ro
Fig. 1. R '
shear-nol1
horizonta
vertical
luminum
diamelu
v\" here, ()
cont act b,
called t he
fri ction.
<p p= 19 (1
present c,
F rom f
calcul ated
ulated Cl
account t
cylindri ca
SIlEAR MECrrANISM OF GRANULAR MATERIALS 31
of interpartiele force could be analyzed by photographing the aspect of photoelastic fringes.
Further, the behvior of steeI balls or graveIs of Iarge diameters in shear couId be observed
by fastening transparent pIates one each on the front and rear sides.
The apparatus of the simple shear type was used for the purpose of investigating the
change in the angle of contact at points of co ntact of individual particles as formed on the
horizontal plane and on the vertical plane when the partieles were exposed to a uniform
shear strain. Thus, it was not fitted with a device designed for the measurement of shear
force. The specimens used in this case measued 20 cm in width and about 20 cm in height.
The applied shear strai n was determined by measu ring the angle of rota tion of the paral
lelogrammic frame illustrated in Photo. 2.
MICROSCOPIC FACTORS GOVER NG SHEAR RESISTANCE
OF GRANULAR M TER! ALS
Rod-shaped Model of a Uniform Diameter
The case of rods of a uniform diameter was considered first as represent ing the simplest
form of rod-shaped mode!. Aluminum rods of a uniform diameter (3 mm) were arranged
--Theoretical
------ E xperimental Q5
% ( IT>m)

E
Fig. 1. Relationship among
shcar-normal force ratio,
horizontal di placement and
vertical di placement on a
luminum rods of a uniform
diameler
in the most compact state in two layers, with the particles in
the upper layer brought into co ntact with the upper pIat e and
those in the low r layer into contact with the lower plate.
By thi s arrangemcnt, the shear test could be performed
while relative di placement was allowed to occur only bet
ween the par ticles in the upper layer and lhose in the lower
layer. The relationship bet ween the force
rat io (S/ ) and t he horizontal displacement x (mm) and
that bet ween the vertical di splacement y (mm) and the hori
zontal di placement x (mm) a actuall y d ter mined by the
present t t are repres nted by open circles (O) and solid
cir el es (e) respect ively in Fig. 1. In thi s g raph, each
solid line represent s a curve obtained by calcul tion accord
ing to the follo ving equat ions on the basi of equilibrium
of force and geometric relati on.
(1)
(2 )
( 3 )
where, {j denotes the angl e formed between the tangent ial plane contammg the point of
contact bet ween two mutually engaging particles a nd the shear plane (horizontal), and is
called the angle of interparticle contact. The t erm ifJl' denotes the angle of interparticle
friction . In the case of aluminum rods placed side hy si de, the actual mcasurement gives
ifJl' =19 (tanifJl'=O. 35). The letter d denotes the diameter of rods which is 3 mm in the
present case.
From figo 1, it is seen that the data from actual measurement el osely agree with the
calcuIated curve. lt is noted that t he plot of open cireles slightly deviates from the cal
culated curve for small values of X. This devi at ion may be explained by t aki ng into
account the 3.ct that some di splacement is required for the mobilization of CPp, or that the
cylindrical rods are not furnished wi th sufficient dimensional accuracy for preeluding possible
,
1
32 MATSUOKA
deviation of the actual particle arrangement from what is obtained by calculation. Where
the parti cles in use havc a uniform e1i ameter and are arranged regularly, however, the
force to be transmitted between particIes can be esti mated a nd the reIationship between
the displacement and the angle of interpart icIe contact can be calculated. Consequently,
the rel at ionsh ip between the force and the e1is lacement displayed as an assembly of particles,
viz. the stress-strain relation can be easily determined by calculation. Where the upper
anel lower planes of mobilized particles are kept in contact respectively with the upper anel!
lower planes so that the shear force is directl y transmitted immediately after its application
to the particIes on the shear plane, t he phenomenon popularly known as play anel ascrib
able to the discret eness of particles inherent to alI granul,.tr mat eri aIs does not occur. s a
consequence, close agreement with the curve of calculatiol1 is believed to begin where the.
magnitude of horizontal displacement is r elati vely small.
A contemplation of Fig. 1 induces the aut hor to vi sualize the stress-strain curve for dense
ly packed sand particIes which falls completel y on the stress r at io vs. displ acement curve
indi cated by the left -half part of the dotted lines in the diagramo Si nce a granular
material like sand is an assembly of particles, it involves the play between it s constituent
particIes. It can be readily presumed, therefore, that appropri ate strain (displacement)
would be required for the applied externaI force to be sufficiently tran mitted to the par
ticles on the shear plane. The peak strength would be att ained if the force was sufli ciently
transmitted to the particIes on the 5hear plane nd the angle of interparticle contact was
such as to offer resistance most advantageously on the average. In this sense, it is imagin
ed that the Ieft-half part of the calculat ed curves given in Fig. 1 would correspond to
the stress-strain relationship after the peak strength.
Wi th the foregoing inference in mind, the author soug ht to choose the interparticle
force, f, the angle of interparticle friction, 1>r, and the angle of interparticle contact, 0,
as microscopic factors directly governing the shear resistance. Here, the angle of inter
particle contact, O, is that which is formed between the tangential plane containing the
r elevant point of contact of the two part icIes and the shear plane. The angle O of which
particles slide over on the lower particlcs is regarded as positive, the angle O of which
particles are just above the lower particles as 0, and the angle fJ of which particles slide
down on the lower particIes as negative. TheoreticalIy, therefore, the angle Ocan assume
any value from -90
0
to +90.
On Angle of Interparticle Contact ()
The first question is haw the angles of interparticlc contact O on the shear plane shauld
be analyzed and evaluated comprehensively in the case of irregular arrangement of particles.
For the present analysis, the whole range af O fram -90 to + 90
0
w as di vided into 18
equal zones of 10 each. From th photograph, angles af int er particle contact O on the
shear plane were read out and separatccl by thcir magnit ude into the 18 zones to find the
frequency distribution of (). The angl es of interparticle contact an the shear plane selected
for the purpose of this analysis were t hose which were thaught to gover n the shear resist
ance in due consideration of the equili br ium of force bet ween the upper half portion and
the lower half portion divicled by t he shear plane as the border line (see F ig. 4). Fig. 2
illust rates how the frequency distributi on of () of aluminum rod mass(l. 6, 3, 5, 9 mm in di a
meter) thus determined would be changed with the magnitude of shear. In the diagram,
(a) corresponds to the initi al condition prior to shear, (b) to t he neighborhood af peak
strength, and (c) to the neighborhoocl of res idual strength. In the direct shear tests using
rods (6.2 mm and 10 mm in di arneter) made of a photoelastic material, steel balls (4 mm,
6.3 mm and 8 mm in diameter) and graveIs, the change in the freq uency di st ribution af O
during shear alsa indicated practical1y the same trend as that of F ig. 2. In the case of
steel
parent sic
trend.
ow, t
in F ig. 2
right syrr
pli s that
angle () \'.
change fr
portion n
by t he eq\
would be
over in ti
particles
ly ct'as t
observat i<
indi cation
shear. 11
F ig. 2 (I:
the symn
shear pIai
position
creased OI
particles
form of
is
namel)',
to corresr
071 Inter)
Photo.
conductec
Wher
er, the<
between
uently,
application
and ascrib
occur. As a
where the
constituent
acement)
to the par
sufficiently
ning the
{} of which
I Oof which
lrt icl es slide
Ocan assume
plane should
: of parti cles.
ed into 18
act f} on the
to find the
Il ane selected
shear r es ist
port ion and
4) . F ig. 2
9 mm in dia
he diagram,
~ o d of peak
lr tests using
balls (4 mm,
:ribution of {}
the case of
Sl-IEAR MECl-IANTSM OF GRANULAR MATERIALS
33
..... -tO -70 ..., -l ....., -00 -30 ..o o 10 ltO ao 40 IIQ 00 70 00 IC>
(j
(a) Initial state prior to hear (b) At Lhe peal. strength
(c) At the residual strcngth
Fig. 2_ Frequeney distribution or O for alummum rod mass
teel ball and graveIs, the angles of inter articl e contact direct ly obser ed elose to the trans
parent si de plates of a shear box were considered as approxi mately representing the \vhol e
t r end.
N ow, the characteristic nature of t he frequency di st r ibution of {} is described. As shown
in Fig. 2 (a), the f requency di st rib ution of () pri or to shear tends to show random left- to
r ight symmetr y s ubstant ialIy uniformly with the excep tion of the edge portions. This im
pl ies t hat the particles can come into contact with one another while formi ng various values of
a ngle (J with t he same degree of probability. The principal mecha ni sm r espons ible for the
change from the symmetri cal distribution to t he di stri but ion havi ng t he peak on the r ight
portion may be logicall y explain d by post ul at ing t hat t he particl es supported in posi tion
by ihe quilibrat ed comb ination of positive angles of contact and negat ive angles of contact
would be depr ived of the support by negative aogles of contact as t hey set out to slide
o er in t he shear direct ion. lo the photoelastic t es t, it is freq uently obscrved t hat the
par ti cIes showi ng fr inges at posi tive and negati ve points of contact prior to shear gradual
Iy cease t o 5how t he fringes at the negative points of contact as the shear advances. The
observation that the di stributi on of () shifts to the f ar right (positive direction of (J) is an
indi cation that the ang le of interparticl e contact provides the most effective resistance to
shear. l t seems quite nat w"al that the peak strength should be reached at this time (see
F ig. 2 (b . A logical int erp retat ion of the shift of the ri ght-sided distribution back t o
the symmetrical distribution assumes that the movement of par ticles to sl ide over on the
sh ar pla ne is act ivated a nd the proport ion of particles which gradualIy come to occupy a
posit ion directl y above parti cl es in the layer immediately below ((J = O at this ti me) is in
creased on the average. At t his point, the ratio of part icles which slide over on the lower
particles t o particles which slide down becomes nearly consistent on the a efage and the
form of symmetrical distribution is not changecl appreciably even if the shear di splacement
is increased further, probably be<: ause the particles are less sufficientl y interlocked and,
namely, has a looser structure than in the iuitial stage of shear. This stage is believed
to correspond to the neigh bor hood of residual st rengt h as shown in Fig. 2 (c).
On lnterparticle Force f
P hqLo. 3 illustrates the res ult of a direct shear test with the photoelastic experiment
conducted on a pile of rods (having two diamet ers 6.2 mm and 10 mm) of a photoelasti c
,
34 MATSUOKA
material. T his photograph shows a con
di tion dose to the residua l strength. The
magni tude of the interparticle force, f,
at t he points of int er parti cle contaet can
be found by reading out t he fringe values
at the said points of eontaet on t he shear
plane from sue h a photograph. I n consid
erat ion of the trend that t he fringe values
under an unchanged force are varied ith
the dia meter of the part icl es involved, the
fringe values based on part icl e diameters
are t o be adequa tely comp nsated. The
quest ion which ari ses at this stage is how
Photo. 3. lsochromatic lines of photoelas tic
rod roass at the residual strength state
the various magnitudes af inter particle
force, f . transmitted in directions for m
ing various angl es with the shear plane should be analyzed and evaluated comprehensively.
For the present study, the author sought to determine the sum uf int erparticle force, f,
(denoted F
J
) within eaeh of variable zones divided by a uniform width of () (20" in this
particular case) a nd investigate the correlation between this sum and the [requency of ()
(denoted N
j
) occurri ng within the same variable zonc.
Fig. 3 illustrates the rel ationship between the fr equency, N ), of (j within each of the
nine vari able zones di vided by a uniform angl e of 20 and the magnitude, F
j
(per unit
depth of rod), of t he interparticle force within the same zone. This relationship shown
in Fig. 3 has been corrected appropriately in consideration of the fact that the absolute
quantity of interparticle force to be transmitted through the shear plane increases owing
to the increase in shear force and the fact that the number of points of int erparticle con
t act on the shear plane dec reascs in proportion to the advancement of shear. In the diagram,
the plots are noted to be dispersed to a considerable ext ent. It may be permi ssible,
however, to assume that the magnit ude, F
j
, of the interparticle force is proportional to
the frequency, N), of () by way of first approximati on.
s
+-
N
j
Fig. 3. Relationsllip beween
F j and N j
MICROSCOPIC ANALYSIS OF SHEAR RESISTANCE AND DILATAl'\CY
l et us now pay att ention to the points of contact of the individual particles which are
o
15
V
V
li
~
V
5
Vj
1 2 3 4 5 7
o
Fig. 4. The angle of interpartlcle contact fh the
interparticle force f ~ and the angle of inter
particl e friction rpp
s lidin
Fig.
f or ti
fri cti(
lixed
w hen
plane
interr
d enot
in th,
be co
when
of po
vari al
Thus,
in th,
In th
ducte,
mat er
expre:
durinl
This
tude
irresp
follo\\
Only
can b
35
s
the
inter
are
SIlEAR MECHANISM 01' GRANULAR MATERIALS
liding against each other on the potential sliding plane (mobilized j)lane) as illustrated in
F ig. 4. Then, Iet f , stand for the interparticle force at the i 'th point of contact and OI
f or the angle of interparticle contact and further assume that the angles af interparticlc
f ri ction ar completely mobilized at the points of interparticle contact 50 as to take up a
fixed value cp". T h n, the shear resi stance (T/aN) will be represent ed generally as follows :
.,..
'sin(}!+cp,, )
T S , I
= (4)
IJN N
"
' cos ()! + cp,,)
,-I
w h re, n denotes the number of point of contact between particles sliding on the shear
pl ane, S the shear force and N t he normal force. Then the entire r ge of the angle of
i nterparti cle contact (-90 to +90) is divided in to vari able zones (the medi um "alue
.denoted as (} j) of a fixed interval d() each, and the sum of the interpart icle force f t wit h
in the variabl e zone (}j is denoted Eq. (4) can, then,
be converted as follows:
m
T
_=) - 1 ( 5 )
IJN m
F
J
cos (}j+ cp,,)
) - 1
where, m denotes the number of the divided variable zones. Let N
j
stand for t he number
of points of interparticle contact (generally referred to as frequency of ()) within each
variable zone (}) (j = 1 to m), then there will result the following equation.
F
J
= = N
J
=fj ' N j ( 6 )
Thus, FJ is expre sed in the form of the product of the average interpart icle force Jj with
in the variable zone (}j multiplied by the number , N
j
, of points of interparticle contact.
I n this connection, a di rect shear test combined with the photoelastic exper iment was con
ducted by usi ng a pile of round rods(6. 2 mm and 10 mm in diameter) made of a photoelastic
mat rial to determine the relationship between F
j
and N) . Consequently, the foJlowing
expr essi on was assumed for fi rst approximat ion of the F) vs. N
j
relationship pr ior to and
during shear, as already described.
FJ = cNj(where, c is a constant) (7)
T his implies t hat, as is evident from the compari son c'( .2q. (6) and Eq. (7), the magni
tude of the average interparticle force Jj of each variable zone is substanti ally constant
irrespectively of the value of (}j. By substituting Eq. (7) in Eq. (5), one obtains the
foll owing equation.
m
_

0N m
( 8 )
LJ NJ'cos ()j+p,,)
.1 - 1
By approximating t he discrete function N
j
to the conti nuous funcion N(}) and expressing
E q. (8) in the integrated form, one obtains the following equation.
f
"/2
T _ _ " / 2
N
(}) sin(}+cp,,) d(}
( 9)
ON -f;:/2
_"/2N(}) 'cos(}+cpp) d(}
Only if N(} ) is given in its functiona l form in Eq. (9), then the shear resistance (T/O.v)
can be calculated by carrying out the integration.
i
!
36
Fig. 5. Trapczoidal and
triangular frequency
distribution of O
M TS OKA
As concerns th condition of the change in tbe f requency
dbtrib ut ion, N (O), of O due to shear, t he author performed
t ests usi ng v ariou kinds of specimen as already describ
ed. The results suggest a possibiEty tbat a trend substantialIy
similar to t hat which is illustrated in Fig. 2 is invariably
manif ted. The shear resistance (r/I1N ) can be calculat ed as
foll ows if t he trapezoida l and triangular di stributioos sho o in
Fig. 5 are approximately assumed for N (O) in view of t he
observatiotls made in the aforementioned testo T he change
in the forro of di stribution due t o shear is expressed in this case, with Op and Oq at the t wo
shoulders in the case of the t rapezoidal di tribution or Op at t he vertex in t he case of the
t riangular distr ibut ion taken each as a vari able. T hus, the foll owing equaiton is der i ed
In the case of t he t rapezoidal distributioo.
-r (n:/2- 01' ) .sin(Oq+cf>p) + (n:/2+f}q) . sin (OI'+cf>p) (Op + Oq) coscf>1'
dN = (n:/2 - 0
p
) ' cos(}q cf>p ) + (n:/2+f)q ) .cos (Op+cf>I' ) +(Op+Oq ) sincpp.
lo the case of the triangular distrib ut ion (Op= Oq ), the following equat ion
r n:s in (O,, + cf>p ) - 2f},, coscf>p
111'1 = n: cos(O p+cf>p ) + 2 f}'P sin cf> p
(10)
is obtained.
(11)
If, in this case, t he val ue of Oq i not very elose to - n:/2, neither the trapezoidal distribu
tion nor the triangular dist ri bution is refl ected very sensiti vel y on the val u of r/aN. lo
such case, t here i adopted a si mpler t r iangular di stri bution. Since IJ which is the average
value of () is obtained by the foll owi og formula,
j
"/2 Ij "/2
= _r=/2N (O) fJdO _;r/ZN (O) dfJ = Op/3
(12)
The ratio -r/I1N is calculated wit h respect t o io accordance with Eq. (lI). T he result of t hi_
calculat io n is hown in Fig. 6. From this diagram, it is seen that in a limited range of
, 7:/aN has a uhstant iaUy linear r el ationsh ip agai nst iJ, with cf>,. as a parameter.
(13)
where, I.J. denotes a physical constant whi ch
equals the interpo ti cle fr ict ion, ta cf>P' A nd,
denotes a cons tant determin d by the value
of I.J. and it takes a 1 approx.imate value bet '{ee
1. 1 and 1. 5 obtaine from t he linear gradien t
of Fig. 6.
Fig. 7 i a model represe tation of the mech-
T 1.1
Oii
li
).>1.5 /
/.37
1.26
1.20
1. /5
/.1/
113
Fig. 6. Relationship between
and fj with parameter (>1'
Fig. 7. Microscopic mechanism ot dila-
tancy(corresponding to the state
aft er t be peak strength)
a nism
copic

lenath
if t he
w here
height
r elati v
in wh
queoc:
show
and (l
ship.
value
respec'
T he f(
Since
its pea
it is C(
in t he
clicatec
followi
By intt
follow
where,
that
wi ll
The le
L incn
ing not
strengt
The fo
af the
deri ved
(10)
average
(12)
dila
state-
SHEAR MECHANISM R MATERI LS
37
<1niSlll far t he development of dilatancy in the granula. materials as viewed from t he micro
scopic standpoint. 00 assumption that there cxist n' particles in Lhe vertical irection
r elative to the shear plane, t he total I ngt h L in t he vertical direction and the incrementaI
I ng th t:1 L due to the change t:1fh (i =1 to ri' -1) in angle can be expressed as shown elow,
jf the particles are regarded as a r igid body.
n' - 1
L= (rt+r, +I ) 'cos O, + (rl + r ,,') (14)
I- I
n '-l ft' - I
LlL = t:1l, = (r , + r t+ l ) .sinO, (- t:1f)t ) (15)
I- I t - l
where, r i denotes the radius of t he i'th particle and t:1l
t
denotes the amount of change in
height produced when the angle fJ
t
of interpart icle cootact formed by t hc (i + 1) 'th particle
relat ive to the i'th particl e is changed by an increment of t:10,. Let us now con ider the case
in which there is received a uniform shear strai n r of imple shear. In this case, the fre
quency distr ibution N (fJ) of () with re pect to the vertical (height ) direction is believed to
show a vari ation characteristi si milar to t ho. t which is depicted in F ig. 2. In Eqs. (14)
and (15) , ri and {}I are completely independcnt of ea h other anel has no functional ralation
ship. Therefore, the operation of averaging is performed here by representing the average
val ue of (rt +rt+I) as J , the average val ue af ()t as O and the av r ge alue of t:10
1
as t:1
respectively as follows.
L = (11' - 1) .JcosO +J;: (n' - 1)JcosO (16)
t:1L = (ri' - 1) Jsi nO (-t:1iJ) (17)
The foUowing eq uat ion wi U be derived from Eqs. (16) and ( 17).
(t:1 L /L)/t:10 =- tan(f (18)
Since ti increases and L decrease (contracts) in proportion as T increases before 7:"laN reaches
its peak st rength, L shows a posit ive compression agai t nn increase in r. Here, since
it is consi dered that (t:1 L/L) equals the increment deN (eN: compression in a posi tive value)
in the normal strain anel t:1 substantiall y equals t he increment dr in t he shear strai n (in
dicated by dat a obtained h om sim pie shear te t on rod mass) , Eq. (18) can be converted as
f oIlows.
(19)
By int grating Eq. ( 19) <lud grant ing the condition that eN= O exists where 0= - (fo, t he
followi ng equation is obtai ned for the value eN pr ior to t be peak strengt h.
e (20)
where, - 0
0
denotes the average v ue of O immediately after t he star t of shear. Assume
that O has a val ue 01' at the peak strength, then the normal strain f: Np at the peak strength
will be expressed as follows.
(21)
The length L shows a positi e expansion against aa increase in r si nce J decreases and
L increases (expands) in proportion with the increase of r after the peak strength. By tak
ing note of thi s relationship and assuming t hat the rel ation dJ= - dr exists after t be peak
strength, Eq. (19) wil! be converteel as shown below.
(22)
The foll owing expression indicati ng the val ue of E:.v (compression as posi ti ve) aft er the
D 80
uneter)
lat c.\'=
(23)
SHEAR MECHA ISM OF GRA roLAR MATERIALS
39
and the strain increment r atio (deN/dT) i derived by substituting Eqs. (19) and (22) in
Eq. (13).
.:!.-. = .arctan(-de.v)+.u:
d
. (_dc.>r )+.u (24)
aN dr d r
By substituting E qs. (20) and (23) in Eq. (13), t here are obtai ned the following expres
sions which show t he relationship bet ween the stress rat io (-r/aN) and the normal st rain
(C N) pri or to and subsequent to the peak strength, respecti vely.
T -
-= a rccos (cos (}o' exp (CN) +.u
aN
-r - -
- = 'arccos (cos
2
(} p,cos-
1
(}o exp ( -eN)} +.u
aN
(25)
(26)
The following equation is derived from Eq. (24) by assuming that the principal stress and
the princi pal strain increment coincide in di recti on.
dea (l1/<1
s
2W./J(i;+ ( -l)
d ei (l - ) .al/ag-2.u./al/<1 3-1
(27)
The verificati on of Eqs. (24) and (27) on the basi of data obtained in actual mea ure
ments wi ll be described w ith respect to sands a nd cl ays in other papers(MaL uoka (1973) and
two u npublished papers).
MICROSCOPIC CONSIDERATION ON STRESS RATIO-STRAIN
DILATANCY CHARACTERISTICS
It is obser ved that densely packed sand has a peaked stress-strain characterist ic and loose
ly packed sand has a stress-strain characteristic of the type of monotonous increase. I n
order t o consi der the physical significance of characteristics, the author performed a
simple shear test by using the apparatus showt1 in Photo. 2. The change in the frequency
distribution of () on a g iven horizont al shear plane dutO to the increase in shear strain was
invest igat ed by g ivi ng a uniform simple shear deformation t o a pile of aluminum r ods (3
mm, 5 mm and 9 mm i n diameter). The result s are in F ig. 8 (1) through (8).
S imilar to the sheaI' tests of the direct shear box type de!:icribed previousl y, i t is seen from
these diagI'ams that the symmetric dist ribution g radually shifts to the t riangular distribution
having a peak ou t he I'ighthand portion with the prog ress of shear anel that the peak of
di st r ibut ion moves back to the center from the right as the shear strai n fur t her increases.
In F ig. 9, the change i n t he form of () distribut ion as rated in terms of the average value
iJ i plotted aga inst various values of shear strain r. The eight plots found in this graph
correspond to the diagrams (1) through (8) of Fig. 8. Generally speaking, the fact that
iJ has a large value proves advantageous with respect to the shear resistance. The aspect
r
Fig. 9. Relationship between (j and T
.,,-----------,
00 -
o.s
a
' .:;
r
<-...:._----------'.,
Fig. 10. Relationship among 't'juN, T and eN
--
-
40 MATSUOKA
of the change of 6 relative to r as depicted in Fig. 9 reminds us of the peak-containing
stress-strai n curve for t he densely packed sand.
As already pointed out, the shear-normal st ress ratio ,,/(lN on t he potenti al sliding plane
(mobilized plane) can be expressed relative to 8 by Eq. (13) . Through the review of t he
mechanism for t he generation of dil atancy, one can express the normal strain E: N (compres
si on as positive) on the aforementi oned plane prioT t o anel su bsequent to the peak strength
by Eqs. (20) and (23), respectively. Since t he plots of agai nst r are available hom
F ig. 9, t he relati onship of r/aN ~ r ~ E:N can be calculated f rom Eqs. (13) , (20) and (23).
T he result of the calculat ion is given in F ig. 10. For t his calcul ati on, ). = 1. 4, p.=0.3
based on the actually measured f r ictional coefficient bet ween aluminum rods (providing p. =
() in case of T=O) , 8,, =10.1 derive from t he fou rth plot uf Fig. 9and - o= - T derived
from the intersection of the elongat ion of t he second ancl third plot s with the vert ical
axis are used. No comparison can be made wit h r/a.v of F ig. 10 because t hc present test
a pparatus does not permit measurement of t he hear stres . F rom t he photograph. how
ever. t he nnal value of the normal st rain, E: N. is found to be -2. 0% whi ch c10sel y corre
ponds t o t he final value of e,I! found in Fig. 10. T he graph of F ig. 10 is noted to b r
striki ng resemblance in f orm tu the tress rat io-strain-di latancy curve of densely packed
sand.
( a ) ( b ) ( a ) ( b )
Fig. 11. View of two-dimensional arrange Fig. 12. Patterns of frequeney distribution
ment of dellBcly packed partides (a) of ti during sbear
and 100se1y packed partides (b) (a) Vcr y dellBe packing
(b) Very loose packing
Fig. 11 (a) and (b) are two-dimensi onal represelltat ions of the arrangement of a densely
pack d and a loosely packed sand composed of relatively spher ical particl es. Fig. 12 (a)
a nd (b) represent, in the for m of modeI. the change in t he distri bution of () due to shear.
T he ci rcled numeraIs 0, and @ are to show quali tat ivel y the sequence in whi ch t he
dist ributi on changes in shear. W hen Iarge sand grains ar pl aced in a transparent box to
make measurement of t he angle of inter part icle contact () on t he hor izontal plane, there
seems t o be observed a fi xed trend: I n t he case of densely packed rel ati vely spheri cal ' and
grains, the distr ibution of () in the state pri or t o shear is obtained in a substant ially sym
metri cal trapezoidal shape indicated by CD in F ig. 12 (a) . In the case of loosely packed
r elat i ely spherical s nd grains, the di str ibut ion is obtained in a t riang ular shape having
concentration in t he neighborhood of {) =Qo as indicated by (j) in F ig. 12 (b). This trend
is also understandable from Fig. 11 (a) and (b) . In t he dist ri but ion obtained in the trape
zoidal hape, it is logi cal t conclude that t he efliciency of int erlocking between sand gr ins
i ncreases in propor ti on as t he wi dth of the shoulder ( upper edge) is increased. This seems
to hav some bearing on the observat ion that the peak st rength increases as the st ep shifts
from 0 t o in Fig. 12 (a) . A fai rly detailed descri pt ion has already been made with
r espect to densely packed particl es. The descript ion here is, therefore, limited to loosely
packed par ti cles. Let us imagine a mass of ver y loosely packed particles. In t his case,
t he majority of part icles are held in an inst abl e arrangem nt in the neighborhood of {) = Oo
as ilI ustrated in Fig. 12 (b). On ex posure to shear, such particles t end to sli de down in
the direi
(b) @.
to slide
thought
ly densE
t he neiJ
a mass
of mon
distr ibu
that b81
t he sam
is belie
materi al
T he c
(1)
introduc
of inter
(2)
plane ir
t he ObSE
of () is
shear.
( 3 )
and tak
a nd th,
relaton
ween tI
( 4)
charactE
tioned f
The ,
Kyoto
present
U niver
Daizo E
The au
laborat<
pack d
densely
12 (a)
shear.
ich the
t box to
, t here
ical and
l! y sym
~ packed
! having
lis trend
he tIape
Id grains
Iis eems
:ep shifts
Ide with
o loosely
lis case,
af 0=0
0
down in
SJlEAR MECUANl SM OF G ANULAR MATRRI AL
41
the direction of shear and t he dist ri bution af O is thought to occur as ilIustrated in Fig.12
(b) 0. As t he shear f ur ther progres e, however, t he proporti on of particles ;vhich begin
to sli de aver on the lo :ver part icl increases and, consequent ly, the distribution of O i
t hought to be returned t o the state of 0). Si nce the distribut ion 0) corresponds to a slight
Iy denser conditi on than that of <D, it is inferred t hat t he concentro.tion tends to vanis h in
t he neighborhood of 0. F rom t he foregoing discussion, it may r ealIy be understood that
a mass of very loosely packed sand grains shows a stress- t rain characteristic of th type
of monotonous increase which la ks a clear peak . The resemblance in form between the
distri bution af (a) and t hat of (b) @ in Fig. 12 is not inconsistent with the ob ervation
t hat bot h a densely packed sand and a loasely packed sand eventua[]y t ake up substanti al1y
t he same strueture when exposed to large shear deformat ion. T hus, the distribut ion of O
is believed to constit ute itself as one index for the evaluation of st ructure of granular
mater iais.
CONCLUSIONS
The conc1usions may be summar ized as folIows :
( 1 ) As microscopic factors di rect/y governing the shear resistance of soil, the aut hor
introduced t he int erpar t icl e force, f, the angle of interpartic1e fr ict ion, ~ ~ , and the angle
of int erpartic1e contaet, f).
( 2) The a. uthor expressed t he angle of interpartic1e contact, (), on t he potent ial slidi ng
plane in terms of frequency di str ibution of () and consequently carne to t ake interest in
the observation that the form of t his dist ri bution would vary wit h shear. This distri bution
af () is thought to constitute itself one index for the evaluat ion of the soil structure under
shear.
( 3 ) By introducing the concept of the dist r ibution of O and its variation during shear,
and taking into considerat ion the pecul iar nat ure of transmission of the interpar ticIe force
and t he microscopic mechanism of dilatancy, the aut hor derived formulas expre si ng the
relationship between the stre s ratio and t he strain increment rati o, the relat ion hi p bet
ween the stress rati o and dilatancy, and t he like.
( 4) T he author furnished a far- reaching explanati on on the stress ratio-strain-dilata ncy
characteristics of the soi l f rom the microscopi c point af view while usi ng the aforemen
ti oned formulas and the concept of t he di stribut ian of ().
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The aut hor sincerely acknowleclges his indebtedness to Professor Sal uro Murayama of
Kyoto University, for his conti nuai guidance anel encouragement given throughout the
present study. A grateful ack nowl edgement is made to Professor T oru Shibata of Kyoto
U niversity, Assistant Professor Norio Yagi of Kanaza va Uc.ivers ity anel Assistant Professor
Daizo Kar ube of Kobe Universi ty, for their helpfu l advice, cTiti isms anel encouragement.
The author also wishes to express his t hanks to colleagues at the Profes or Murayama's
Iaboratory for their daily discussions and support.
NOTATION
d, d=diamet r oi particles anel average diameter of particles, respectively
F; =sum of inter particle forces wi thin the i ' th var iable zone
f, li = interpart icIe force and that at t he i'th poi nt of contact on the potential slidi ng
plane, respectively
42 M ATSUOK A
! j=average interpart icle for ce within the j'th variable zone
L, .d L =total leng th in the vertical direction relative to t he potential sliding pIa0 and
ill crement f that, respectively
.d l i = increment in height between t wo particles cau ed by the increment of the angle
of interparticle contact
m= number Df t he divided var iable zones
N=normal force
N
j
, N ((j) = f requency of angles of inter particl Onta t within the j 'th vari able zone and
that in conti nuoll s f unctonal f orm , re pectively
11. ,11.' =number of mobi lized particles on t he potent ial sliding plane and that in the
vertical direction relative to the potential sliding plane, respectively
of t he i'th particle
S =shear [orce
x, y = hori zon tal an vertical displacement, respect i ely
r =shear strain 00 the potent ial sliding plane (mobilized pl ane)
f:N , eNI'= normal strain on the potential slidi ng plane (mobilized plane) and that at t he
peak strength, re pectively
f: e
3
= major and minor principal train
0, af interparti cle contact and t hat at the i'th point af contact, respectively
OJ= m dium value of (j in the j ' th variabl e zon
{)p= right shoulder in t he case of the trapezoi dal dist ri but ion af () or vertex in the
case of the triangular di tributi on of ()
Oa=lef t shoulder in the case of t he trapezoidal di stribut ion of (j
(f, -!J
o
, ,,= average value af angle of inter particle cantact , t hat immediately aft er the
start af shear and that at the peak trength, respectively
.d{) h .d= increment af angle of int erparticle contact at the i'th point of cont act and
a erage val ue of that , respect ively
=a const ant determined by the value af f.J. and taking an approxi mate valu
bet ween 1. 1 and 1. 5
f.J. = coeffici ent of interparti cle f riction (=tan 1>p)
cT N= effect ive normal stress on the mobilized plane
cT
I
, cT
3
= major and minor effective principal st ress
T' == shear stress on th mobi li zed plane
1>mo == mobi lized angl of int ernai f riction ( =arct an ("{cTN ))
1>p= angle of interpart icle fri ct ion
(r/cTN) = shear-normal stress rat io on the mobilized pl ane
(d N/dr) = norm l-shear strain nc:rement rati o ou t he mobilized plane
(aIla
s
) = effective pr incipal stre S rati o
( des/d e
l
) = princi pal strain increment ratio

1) Horne, M. R. (1965): "The behaviour af an assembly Df rotund, rigid, cohesionless particles,
Part 1 and 2, " Proc. Roy. Soc. A. , Vol. 286, pp.62-97.
2) Matsuoka, H. (1972) : "The stress-strain relation Df soi ls under sheari ng deri ved f rom a micro
scopic consideration," Annuals, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University. No.
15B, pp. 499-511 (in ]apanese).
3) Matsuoka, H. (1973): "Stressstrain relationship Df soil s under three different principal stresses, "
Annuals, Disaster Prevention Research Insti tute, Kyoto Universi ty, No. 16B, pp. 711-733 (in
Japanese) .
4) M
Se
5) M
S(
6) M
of
7) M
S:
8) M
oI
In
9) M

PI
10) M
P
11)
12) O
S.
13) O
F
14) R
1i
111
43
and
t he angle
after the
particles,
SfIEAR MECUANISM OF GRANULAR M TERIALS
4) Matsuoka, H. (to appear): "Stress-strain relationships of and b a ~ e d 0 0 a 'croscopic s t udy,"
Soil s and Fouodations.
5) Matsuoka, H. (to appear) : "Stress-strai n rela tionshi ps of day bascd on a microscopi c study,"
Soil s aod Foundatioos.
6) Mogami, T. (1965) : s ' tist ical th ory of mechanic of granular ma teria l ," Journ. Faculty
of Eng., Univer ity of T okyo, cr. B, VoI. 28, No. 2, pp.65-79.
7) Murayama, S. (1964): "A theoretical consideration on a behaviour of sand", Proc. of r.U.T.A. M.
ymposium of Rbeology and Soi! Mechanics, Gr enoble, pp. 146- 159.
8) Murayarna, S. and Mat suoka, H. (1970) : "A microscopic cons ideralioo on the shear ing bebavior
of g r anular m terials us ing the twodimensional models." Annuals, Di saster Preveution Research
lnstitute, Kyoto Univer it y, 0.13B, pp. 505-523 (in Japanese) .
9) Murayama, S. and Matsuoka, n. (1971) : "The mechan.ism of hear ing and i ts s imilarity for
sands and days, " Annual , Disaster Prevent ion Research Institute, Kyoto University, No. 14B,
pp.551- 563 (in Japanesc).
10) Mura ama, S. and Matsuoka, H. (1973): "A lUicroscopic study on shearing mecbanism of soi I3,"
Proc. 8th lnt. Cont o S. M. F. E. , VaI. , Pa rt 2, pp. 293-298.
11) Newlaod, P. L. and llely, B. H. (1957) : "Volume ehange in dra ined triaxial tests on granular
material, "Gotechnique, VoI. 7, No. 17, pp.17-34.
12) Oda, M. (1972a) : "The mechanis of f abrie change dur ing compressional deformation of sand,"
Soil s and Foundations, VaI. 12. No. 2, pp.1-18.
13) Oda, M. (1972b): "O forma tion mechanism of sand in triaxial compression tests." Soils and
' oundations, VaI. 12. 0. 4, pp.45- 63.
14) Rowe, P. W. (1962) : "The stress-di latancy relation for static equilibrium of an assembly of pa r
tieles in contact," Proc. Soe. London, Ser. A., VoI. 269, pp.500-527.
( Received October 16, 1973)