Effective Elastic Properties and Micro-mechanical Damage Evolution of Composite Granular Rocks: Insights from Particulate Discrete Element Modelling

The mechanical behavior of composite granular rocks is a multifaceted phenomenon with broad relevance in various geomechanical applications. Traditional homogenization models and continuum mechanics-based numerical methods often fall short of accurately capturing the intricacies of granular materials. Granular materials exhibit heterogeneity and arching mechanisms governing the force networks that ensure system stability. Unlike continuum-based approaches, discrete element methods (DEM) have an advantage in assessing effective material properties by considering material heterogeneity and grain-level physical interactions. This study evaluates effective elastic properties using DEM with flat-joint contact law for composite binary mixtures with a stiff inclusion embedded within a matrix material. We examine variations in the elastic properties across different structural and laminated geometrical distributions of inclusion materials. Our findings closely adhere to the Voigt-Reuss and Hashin–Strikman bounds within their specific conditions, demonstrating the promising application of DEM in the analysis of composite materials. In addition, our research provides an in-depth analysis of the distinctive stress-evolution and damage-evolution characteristics exhibited by various geometrical configurations of inclusions under unconfined compressive loading. These results offer invaluable insights into the mechanical behavior of composite granular rocks and underscore the potential applications of DEM in addressing rock physics modeling problems encountered in petroleum engineering. Highlights The study’s findings validate the use of discrete element modeling in predicting the effective mechanical behavior of composite rocks. Effective elastic properties of composite rocks estimated using the discrete element method are well constrained by Hashin–Shtrikman and Voigt–Reuss bounds. The research uncovers different behaviors in elastic moduli for isotropic and laminated inclusion scenarios. Stress and strain exhibit distinct patterns of evolution within materials possessing different properties. The study highlights distinct material behaviors under different loading conditions and composite compositions, shedding light on how composition, geometry, and loading direction influence crack formation and sample failure.