Conclusion

In this article, we have attempted to present recent developments in the modeling of the mechanical behavior of geomaterials, based on a micromechanical description of the latter. These elements of micromechanical description can be partially taken into account within more classical phenomenological behavior models, or they can constitute the very essence of micromechanical constitutive relationships.

Nevertheless, we have chosen to give pride of place to a numerical method already used by a number of large organizations and groups: the discrete element method, which allows the granular nature of civil engineering materials to be taken into account in describing their mechanical behavior.

The biggest limitation of this method is the calculation time, which, for laptop computers, means that only a few tens of thousands of grains need to be...