Microstructure and micromechanics of polydisperse granular materials: Effect of the shape of particle size distribution

•The microstructure and micromechanics of granular media were investigated.•The continuous and discrete PSDs were applied.•Uniaxial compression test was modelled using discrete element method.•Microstructure is determined by the type of PSD.

The uniaxial compression of polydisperse spheres with continuous: normal, log-normal, arbitrary and discrete uniform particle size distribution was modelled with the discrete element method (DEM). The evolution of solid fraction, coordination number and fabric tensor with increasing compressive stress was investigated in granular packings of equal mean particle diameter and standard deviation of particle mean diameter. The study of the relationship between the shape of particle size distribution and the micromechanical properties of granular packings included the determination of the contact forces and the degree of mobilisation of friction in contacts between particles. Slight influence of the shape of continuous particle size distribution on the solid fraction and coordination number in polydisperse packings was observed. The discrete uniform distribution provided the number of contacts lower by 7% as compared to continuous distribution. Concerning the mobilisation of friction in contacts between spheres, the average ratio of the tangential: normal contact forces in packing with discrete distribution was 25% higher than the one calculated for normal particle size distribution.

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