On the evolution law of a contact normal-based fabric tensor for granular materials

This paper presents a theoretical study on a hybrid fabric evolution law for modelling anisotropic behaviour of granular media. In the hybrid evolution law, the rate of a contact normal-based fabric tensor is related to the rates of both stress ratio tensor and plastic strain. Assumptions and principles that were adopted for the development of the fabric evolution law are presented and discussed at first. Its accuracy is then examined by comparing with discrete element modelling (DEM) results under proportional loading and experimental data under complex loading and unloading processes. It is found that fabric evolution at low stress ratios is closely related to the stress-rate driven term of the hybrid law, while the strain-rate driven term dominates at high stress ratios. The hybrid evolution law satisfies the uniqueness requirement of fabric at the critical state by introducing an ‘attractor’ concept. Overall, fabric evolutions predicted by the hybrid law show a close agreement with DEM simulation results and experimental data.