Simulating dry granular flow impacts on 3D rigid obstacles

The scope of this study is to identify the loads acting on a 3D structure impacted by a dry granular flow using numerical modelling. The developed models deploy the Material Point Method (MPM) owing to its capability in capturing largestrain deformation problems. Initially, a 2D model of an experiment from the literature is developed. The experiment refers to a small-scale flume test which monitors the impact of a dry granular flow on a rigid obstacle with different inclinations of the flume. The developed numerical model accurately replicates a previously validated simulation, regarding the impact process and obtained measurements and therefore, captures efficiently the experimental response. The 2D numerical model is then extended to a 3D computational domain, indicating sensitivity of the impact force records upon the assigned number of material points representing the granular flow. The calibrated 3D model is modified to consider reduced obstacle width, to capture the variability of induced soil pressure on the structures and simulate the soil flow when surrounding them. The implemented modifications indicate a degrading post-peak branch linked to the decreasing sediment at the front face of the structure