Micromechanical modelling of anisotropic non-linear elasticity of granular medium

In this paper a macroscopic elastic model is derived from a microscopic Hertz-Mindlin elastic contact law using an homogenisation technique. The results obtained in the case of an initially isotropic granular medium submitted to an isotropic stress state are first presented. The influence of the static and kinematic internal variables defined in the homogenisation approach is then discussed, Extensions to the cases of an isotropic granular medium submitted to an anisotropic stress state and of an anisotropic medium loaded isotropically are analysed and discussed. As often as possible, comparisons with experiments or numerical simulations are considered. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.