Level set discrete element method for three-dimensional computations with triaxial case study

In this paper, we outline the level set discrete element method (LS-DEM) which is a discrete element method variant able to simulate systems of particles with arbitrary shape using level set functions as a geometric basis. This unique formulation allows seamless interfacing with level set-based characterization methods as well as computational ease in contact calculations. We then apply LS-DEM to simulate two virtual triaxial specimens generated from XRCT images of experiments and demonstrate LS-DEM's ability to quantitatively capture and predict stress-strain and volume-strain behavior observed in the experiments. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.