Effect of Grain Content on the Sandstone Properties Using Biconcave Bond Model of DEM

Abstract

This study adopted the biconcave bond model of DEM (Discrete element method) to investigate the mechanical behavior of sandstone. The biconcave bond model is capable of simulating the cementation between non-contact grains of sandstone with high porosity. It also links the micro parameters and macro material properties. The biconcave bond model incorporated with grain-matrix structure was used to investigate the influence of grain and matrix on sandstone behavior. The simulation shows that the stress-strain curves fit experiment result well. In addition, the sensitivity analysis of GAR (Grain area ratio) and porosity shows that the simulation of UCS and Young’s modulus agree well with the empirical equation.