Mechanical Analysis of ditch conduit using discrete-continuous coupling method

The analysis of load-bearing ditch conduit is conducted using the discrete-continuous coupling method at the macroscopic and mesoscopic scales. To better reflect the uneven settlement between the undisturbed soil and the filling soil, the undisturbed soil is meshed by grids, and the filling soil is modeled by pellets. The mesoscopic parameters used for particle flow simulation are given through calibration. The results show that the settlements of soils reach maximum at the top of the conduit. Under the ground load, the conduit has a horizontal expansion. The process of loading can be reconstructed by the observation of the force chain structure. The relationship between the deformation of the conduit and the movement of the pellets shows that the structure of force chain can give a good explanation for the mechanism of force transfer.