Behaviour of interfacial layer along granular soil-structure interfaces

As shear occurs along a soil-structure interface, a localized zone with a thickness of several grain diameters will develop in soil along the interface, forming an interfacial layer. In this paper, the behaviour of a soil-structure interface is studied numerically by modelling the plane shear of a granular layer bounded by rigid plates. The mechanical behaviour of the granular material is described with a micro-polar hypoplastic continuum model. Numerical results are presented to show the development of shear localization along the interface for shearing under conditions of constant normal pressure and constant volume, respectively. Evolution of the resistance on the surface of the bounding plate is considered with respect to the influences of grain rotation.