Calibration of microscopic mechanical parameters of granite using actual distributions and orthogonal simulations

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to investigate a calibration technique for the microscopic mechanical parameters of the granite. The video images photographed during the laboratory test were used to determine the actual types and locations of various compositions. The grains and cements of the compositions were then assumed to be assembly of particle disks and parallel bonds. The pixel and particle loops were combined to set the actual compositions in simulation. Using the micro-mechanical parameters in a four level, thirty-two orthogonal tests were conducted to examine the sensitivity of the micro-mechanical parameters on the macro ones. A practical method was thereafter proposed to determine the micro-mechanical parameters using laboratory test results. It shows that the elasticity, Poisson’s ratio and strength were much correlated between micro-macro scales; the convergence was much quickly if considering the actual distributions of compositions and orthogonal simulation results.