Quasi-static simulations of compact polydisperse particle systems

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) was originally devised by Cundall and Strack (1979), as a technique to examine the micromechanics of granular media with the anticipation that this would lead to more physically reliable continuum theories to describe the quasi-static deformation of granular material such as sand. However, the methodology models the evolution of a system of particles as a dynamic process. Consequently there have been numerous publications of the application of DEM to an increasingly wider variety of problems in many areas of engineering and science. This paper, however, focuses on the original motivation for DEM and attempts to provide a state-of-the-art understanding of the quasi-static deformation of granular media.