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Volume 116
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Micro-geometric instability of granular material: A DEM investigation on the buckling of force chain column
Liming Zheng a *, Fangzhou Liu a b, Dave H. Chan a
a Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
b Department of Civil Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
10.1016/j.partic.2026.06.019
Volume 116, September 2026, Pages 126-138
Received 11 March 2026, Revised 17 June 2026, Accepted 19 June 2026, Available online 24 June 2026, Version of Record 1 July 2026.
E-mail: liming4@ualberta.ca
Highlights

• Non-uniform force distribution and force transmission can lead to a microscopic geometric instability effect.

• Microstructural geometric effect and instability can contribute to macroscopic failure.

• Geometric instability is an atypical form of strain softening that is independent of volumetric change.


Abstract

In the analysis of soil mechanical response, it is often assumed that the stress state and intergranular force transmission are uniform based on the continuum theory. However, at the microscopic scale, stress and force transmissions are inherently non-uniform. This non-uniformity can be attributed to material imperfections, soil fabric, and/or particle bonding. In this study, a 3D discrete element method (DEM) model is used to analyze the internal geometric instability of a soil. A geometric instability of a column analogous to Euler's Buckling Theory is introduced in the soil specimen. The results reveal that the observed instability mode arises from microstructural geometric effects rather than insufficient material strength, which has not been explicitly considered in conventional interpretations of soil microstructure. This suggests that a microscopic geometric instability of a soil alone may trigger a macroscopic global failure.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Soil microstructural geometric effects; Geometric instability; Granular mechanics; Discrete element method; Euler's buckling theory
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