Flat Joint Contact Model

Flat-Joint Contact Model
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The flat-joint model can be installed at both ball-ball and ball-facet contacts, and is referred to in commands and FISH by the name flatjoint.
Introduction
The flat-jointed material is described in the first section, which provides an introduction to the concepts employed in the model formulation. The
model formulation follows in the subsequent sections, in which the kinematic variables are introduced and the kinetics or force-displacement law
of an element is presented. The initial two- and three-dimensional flat-joint models are described in [Potyondy2012a], [Potyondy2012b], and
[Potyondy2013], respectively. The present description defines both the 2D and 3D flat-joint models, and supersedes all previous descriptions.
Flat-Jointed Material
A flat-joint contact and its corresponding flat-jointed material are shown in Figure 1. A flat-joint contact simulates the behavior of an interface
between two notional surfaces, each of which is connected rigidly to a piece of a body. A flat-jointed material consists of bodies (balls, clumps, or
walls) joined by flat-joint contacts such that the effective surface of each body is defined by the notional surfaces of its pieces, which interact at
each flat-joint contact with the notional surface of the contacting piece. The notional surfaces are called faces, which are {lines in 2D; disks in 3D}.
The following description of a flat-jointed material applies to the case in which bodies are balls; however, the flat-joint model can be installed at
both ball-ball and ball-facet contacts. We refer to the balls of a flat-jointed material as faced grains, each of which is depicted as a {circular in 2D;
spherical in 3D} core and a number of skirted faces. The faced grains are created when the flat-joint model is installed at the ball-ball contacts of a
packed ball assembly (see Figure 2). An interface exists between each set of adjoining faces and is discretized into elements, with each element
being either bonded or unbonded. The breakage of each bonded element contributes partial damage to the interface, and each breakage event is
denoted as a crack (see Figure 3)[1]. If the relative displacement at a flat-joint contact becomes larger than the flat-joint diameter, then the
adjoining faces may be removed (because the contact may be deleted), making the associated balls locally {circular in 2D; spherical in 3D}; if these
balls come back into contact, the behavior will be that of an interface between {circular in 2D; spherical in 3D} surfaces (if the linear contact model
is assigned to the new contact).
Figure 1: Flat-joint contact (left) and flat-jointed material (right).
mk:@MSITStore:C:\Program%20Files\Itasca\PFC500\pfchelp.chm::/common/contactmod... 9/11/2016
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Figure 2: Creation of faced grains showing packed ball assembly (left) and initial faced-grain assembly (right).
Figure 3: Partially damaged flat-jointed material showing faced grains with cracks colored red/blue for tensile/shear failure.
Kinematic Variables
The interface of the flat-joint model remains centered on, and rotates with, the contact plane such that the interface coordinate system coincides
with the contact-plane coordinate system. The interface gap
is expressed below in terms of the surface gap and the relative
bend-rotation vector.[2] The relative motion of the notional surfaces varies over the interface, and is expressed by the symbols
related to the relative motion of the piece surfaces at the contact location:
and
, which are
(1)
where the relative displacement and rotation increments (
and
) are from this equation in the "Contact Resolution" section. It is only the
relative shear displacement (

) of the 3D model that varies over the interface (when the relative twist rotation is nonzero); thus, the circumflex
will be used only for this quantity. In the remainder of this section, we describe the kinematic variables and interface discretization, first for the 2D
model and then for the 3D model.
The interface of the 2D flat-joint model is a rectangle of width
expressed by its relative position
the radial direction (
and unit-thickness depth. The location of a point
that lies on the interface is
. The interface discretization (see Figure 4) is controlled by the number of equal-length elements in
). The area and centroid location of each element are denoted by
and
, respectively. These quantities are given by

(2)
The quantities
and
do not change during a simulation; thus, they are set and stored during the first cycle after flat-joint installation.
Figure 4: Interface discretization of the 2D flat-joint model showing element-numbering convention (left) and parameterization of a typical element (right).
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The interface gap of the 2D flat-joint model (see Figure 5) is given by

(3)
where
is the surface gap and
is the relative bend-rotation vector of this equation of the "Contact Resolution" section. When expressed in the
system, the interface gap varies only with

a small-strain approximation).
, and is related to
and
. The interface gap is not affected by the relative shear motion (which is
Figure 5: Interface gap of the 2D flat-joint model corresponding with motion at top of image.
For the 2D flat-joint model, the following components of the interface relative motion are tracked:
(4)
The interface of the 3D flat-joint model is a disk of diameter

position
. The location of a point
that lies on the interface is expressed by its relative
. The interface discretization (see Figure 6) is controlled by the number of elements in the radial (
directions. The area and centroid location of each element are denoted by
and
) and circumferential (
, respectively. These quantities are given by

(5)
where the superscript
notation has been dropped for the
and
terms, which are given by

(6)
where
is the largest integer not greater than . The quantities
are set and stored during the first cycle after flat-joint installation.
, and
do not change during a simulation; thus, they
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Figure 6: Interface discretization of the 3D flat-joint model showing element-numbering convention (left) and parameterization of a typical element (right).
There are two coordinate systems associated with the interface of the 3D flat-joint model (see Figure 7): the
contact plane coordinate system and the
rotation vector (
) orients the
The relative position of a point
system, which coincides with the
system, which is dependent on the contact plane coordinate system as follows. The relative bend-
coordinate system such that
is aligned with
(at an angle
from the positive
axis) and
that lies on the interface can be expressed in either coordinate system by the relations:
(7)
The mapping between these two coordinate systems of a vector
that lies on the interface is given by the relations:

(8)
The interface gap of the 3D flat-joint model (see the next figure) is given by
(9)
where
is the surface gap and
is the relative bend-rotation vector of this equation of the "Contact Resolution" section. When expressed in the
system, the interface gap varies only with
and is related to
and
. The interface gap is not affected by the relative shear displacement
or the relative twist rotation (which is a small-strain approximation). The interface gap is expressed in terms of , , and
mapping of Equation (8) into (9)):
(by substituting the

(10)
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Figure 7: Interface gap of the 3D flat-joint model corresponding with motion at top of image.
For the 3D flat-joint model, the following components of the interface relative motion are tracked:
(11)
Behavior Summary
The flat-joint model provides the macroscopic behavior of a finite-size, linear elastic and either bonded or frictional interface that may sustain
partial damage (see Figure 8). The interface is discretized into elements. Each element is either bonded or unbonded, and the breakage of each
bonded element contributes partial damage to the interface. The behavior of a bonded element is linear elastic until the strength limit is exceeded
and the bond breaks, making the element unbonded; the behavior of an unbonded element is linear elastic and frictional, with slip accommodated
by imposing a Coulomb limit on the shear force. Each element carries a force and moment that obey the force-displacement law described below,
while the force-displacement response of the flat-joint interface is an emergent behavior that includes evolving from a fully bonded state to a fully
unbonded and frictional state.
Figure 8: Behavior and rheological components of the flat-joint model.
Activity-Deletion Criteria
A contact with the flat-joint model is active if any element is either bonded or has a negative gap. The force-displacement law is skipped for
inactive contacts. The contact may be deleted at the discretion of the contact detection logic if the distance between the centers of the notional
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surfaces becomes greater than the flat-joint diameter (
).
Force Displacement Law

The force-displacement law for the flat-joint model updates the contact force and moment (
and
) that act at the contact location
in an equal and opposite sense on the two pieces (see the first figure in the "Contacts Models" topic). This is done by discretizing the interface into
elements and providing a force-displacement law for each element so that the force-displacement response of the flat-joint interface is an
emergent behavior. The force-displacement law for a flat-joint element is described in this section.
Each element carries a force and moment (
and
) that act at the element centroid in an equal and opposite sense on the notional surfaces.
The element forces and moments produce a statically equivalent force and moment at the center of the interface (which coincides with the contact
locationsee Figure 9 and Figure 10) given by
(12)
where
is the relative position and
is the centroid location of element
. For the 2D model, Equation (12) becomes

(13)
by substituting
below).
from Equation (2) into Equation (12) and expressing the element force in terms of its normal and shear components (defined
Figure 9: Force and moment acting on a typical 2D element (right) and its centroid relative position vector used to determine their contribution to force and moment at the
center of the interface (left).
Figure 10: Force and moment acting on a typical 3D element (right) and its centroid relative position vector used to determine their contribution to force and moment at the
center of the interface (left).
The force-displacement law for a flat-joint element updates the element force and moment (
state (
and
), and may modify the element bond
). The element force is resolved into a normal and shear force, and the element moment is resolved into a twisting and bending moment:
(14)
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where
is tension and
is shown in this figure of the "Contact Resolution" section. The shear force and bending moment lie on
the interface and are expressed in the interface coordinate systems:
(15)
For the 3D model, a simplifying assumption[3] gives

element, and
and
are updated by integrating the normal stress acting over the
is updated incrementally based on the effective portion of the relative shear-displacement increment at the element centroid.
The element normal and shear stresses are given by

(16)
where
is tension, and the stresses act at the element centroid. The interface normal stress
is given by
(17)
where
is the normal stiffness and is the interface gap of {Equation (3) in 2D; Equation (9) in 3D}. The interface normal stress is proportional to
the gap, and the unbonded region with a positive gap carries no load. A tensile load is carried only in a bonded region with a positive gap, and a
compressive load is carried wherever the gap is negative (regardless of its bonding state). The gap and normal stress are continuous over the
interface, and the gap may change sign within an element; however, the bonding is not continuous over the interface because each element is
either bonded or unbonded (see below).
Figure 11: Variation of gap, normal stress, and bond state over a four-element, 2D flat-joint model corresponding with motion at top of image.
When the flat-joint model is installed at a contact, initialize:

(18)
When the first cycle occurs after the flat-joint model is installed at a contact, fix the properties:
(19)
and initialize:
(20)
The first condition establishes the initial location and orientation of the notional surfaces relative to the pieces. The initial surface gap (
is open) is the distance between the finite-size notional surfaces measured along the dotted line in Figure 1. The surface gap
is open) is the cumulative relative normal displacement of the piece surfaces.
,
,
The force-displacement law for a flat-joint element consists of the following steps (see Figure 12 and Figure 13).
1. Update
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:
(21)
where
is the interface normal stress of Equation (17), and the integration is performed over element ( ). Analytical
expressions for this integral (given in the section "Expressions for Element Normal Force and Bending Moment" below) are used
to update
, which in turn, is used to update
exceeded (
. If the element is bonded and the tensile-strength limit is
), then break the bond in tension
, trigger the bond-break callback
event, and skip the next step. If the element is unbonded and
, then set the element shear force to zero
and skip the next step.

2. Update
as follows. Compute a trial element shear force:

(22)
where
is the effective portion of the relative shear-displacement increment at the element centroid. If the element is
bonded, then the entire increment is effective; if the element is not bonded, then only the portion of the increment that occurs
while
is effective;
is
end of the timestep is denoted by
of Equation (1) evaluated at the element centroid and

and
at the beginning and
, respectively. The trial element shear stress:

(23)
The procedure now differs based on the bond state as follows.
Unbonded. The shear strength
. If
strength limit
, then
; otherwise, enforce the shear-
, which implies that slip has occurred and the slip energy is updated
via Equation (28). If the slip state has changed, then trigger the slip_change callback event.
Bonded. The shear strength
. If
strength limit has been exceeded. Break the bond in shear (by setting
, then
; otherwise, the shear,
and reevaluating
as in step 1), and trigger the bond_break callback event.

3. Update
:
(24)
where
is the interface normal stress of Equation (17),
is the moment arm w.r.t. the element centroid, and the integration is
performed over element ( ). Analytical expressions for this integral (given in the section "Expressions for Element Normal Force
and Bending Moment" below) are used to update
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Figure 12: Force-displacement law for an unbonded flat-joint element: (a) normal stress versus element gap; (b) shear stress versus relative shear displacement; and (c) slip
envelope.
Figure 13: Force-displacement law for a bonded flat-joint element: (a) normal stress versus element gap; (b) shear stress versus relative shear displacement; and (c) failure
envelope.
Energy Partitions
The flat-joint model provides two energy partitions:
strain energy,
slip energy,
, stored in the springs; and
, defined as the total energy dissipated by frictional slip.
The strain energy in the flat joint is obtained by summing the strain energy in each element:
(25)
The strain energy in each element is updated after the force-displacement law:
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(26)
where
is the moment of inertia of the element cross-section (about the line passing through
and in the direction of
),
is the polar
moment of inertia of the element cross-section (about the line through

and in the direction of
), is the element half-length, and
is the
element effective radius. The integrals in Equation (26) are {evaluated exactly in 2D; and approximated in 3D} (by assuming that the element is a
disk with an area equal to that of the element).
The slip energy in the flat joint is obtained by summing the slip energy in each element:
(27)
The slip energy in each element is updated during the force-displacement law whenever the shear-strength limit has been exceeded via:
(28)
where the quantities are defined in the "Force Displacement Law" section.
Table 1: Flat-Joint Model Energy Partitions
Keyword
Symbol
Description
Range
Accumulated
estrain
Strain energy
NO
eslip
Total energy dissipated by slip
YES
Properties
The properties defined by the flat-joint contact model are listed in the table below as a concise reference; see the "Contact Properties" section for a
description of the information in the table columns.
Table 2: Flat-Joint Model Properties
Keyword
Symbol
Description
Type
Range
Default Modifiable
Number of elements in radial direc. (total

number of elements in 2D)
INT
[1, )
NO[1]
NO
Number of elements in circumferential direc.
INT
[3, )
NO[1]
NO
fj_rmul
Radius multiplier
FLT
(0.0, )
1.0
NO[1]
NO
fj_gap0
Initial surface gap
FLT
[0.0, )
0.0
NO[1]
NO
fj_kn
Normal stiffness [stress/disp.]
FLT
[0.0, )
0.0
YES
NO
fj_ks
Shear stiffness [stress/disp.]
FLT
[0.0, )
0.0
YES
NO
fj_fric
Friction coefficient
FLT
[0.0, )
0.0
YES
NO
fj_ten
Tensile strength [stress]
FLT
[0.0, )
0.0
YES
NO
fj_coh
Cohesion [stress]
FLT
[0.0, )
0.0
YES
NO
fj_fa
Friction angle [degrees]
FLT
[0.0, 90.0)
0.0
YES
NO
fj_elem
Element ( ) accesses element-based

data (element numbering in Figure 4 and
Figure 6)
INT
[1,
YES
NO
fj_emod
Effective modulus
FLT
[0.0, )
0.0
NO
NO
fj_kratio
Normal-to-shear stiffness ratio,
FLT
[0.0, )
0.0
NO[2]
NO
fj_slip
Slip state of element
BOOL {true,false} false
NO
NO
flatjoint
Model name
fj_nr
fj_nal
(3D)
Inheritable
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fj_state
Bond state of element
INT
{0,1,2,3}
fj_radius
Flat-joint radius
FLT
(0, )
NA
fj_gap
Surface gap
FLT
(-, )
NO
NO
fj_relbr
Relative bend-rotation
VEC2
NA
NO
NO
model:
(2D
NO
NO
NO (set via
NO
fj_cen
Centroid location of element
VEC
NA
NA
NO
NO
fj_area
Area of element
FLT
(0, )
NA
NO
NO
fj_egap
Gap at centroid of element
FLT
(-, )
NA
NO
NO
fj_shear
Shear strength [stress] at centroid of

element
FLT
[0.0, )
0.0
fj_sigma
Normal stress at centroid of element
FLT
(-, )
NA
fj_tau
Shear stress at centroid of element
FLT
[0.0, )
NA
NO
NO
fj_force
Interface force
VEC
NA
NO
NO
fj_moment
Interface moment
VEC
NA
NO
NO
NO (set via
and
NO
NO
NO
fj_track
Tracking state for use when plotting

contacts with the specific numeric value
BOOL {true,false} false
YES
NO
fj_mtype
Initial microstructural type
INT
NO
NO
{1,2,3,4}
NA
[1] Specify before cycling; cannot modify thereafter.

[2] If either the normal or shear stiffness is zero, then
Methods
Method
is zero.
Table 3: Flat-Joint Model Methods

Argument
Symbol
Type
Range
Default
emod
FLT
[0.0,+ )
NA
kratio
FLT
[0.0,+ )
NA
Description
Set deformability
deformability
Effective modulus
Normal-to-shear stiffness ratio
Bond element ( e ) or all elements
bond
Element number ( e )[1]
element
gap
VEC2
Gap interval
Unbond element ( e ) or all elements.
unbond
element
gap
VEC2
Gap interval
[1] Element numbering is shown in figures above.

Deformability
The deformability provided by the flat-joint interface can be specified with the deformability method which sets:
(29)
The first term in this expression is obtained by equating the normal stiffness to the axial stiffness of the volume of material shown in this figure of
the "Linear Model" description.
The deformability of a homogeneous, isotropic, and well-connected granular assembly experiencing small-strain deformation can be fit by an
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isotropic material model, which is described by the elastic constants of Young's modulus ( ) and Poisson's ratio ( ).
properties that can be related to the effective modulus (
related to
with
increasing as
increases, and
relationships are obtained by specifying
and
) and the normal-to-shear stiffness ratio (
is related to
with
and
are emergent
) at the contact as follows:
increasing up to a limiting positive value as
as the arguments of the deformability method.
is
increases. These
Bond
Bond element ( ) if the contact gap between the pieces is within the bonding-gap interval. If no gap is specified, then the element is bonded if the
pieces overlap. A single value can be specified with the gap keyword corresponding to the maximum gap. If the element number ( ) is not specified,
then all elements are bonded. Only elements with a zero gap over their entire surface can be bonded. If an element becomes bonded, then the
element bond state becomes bonded (
). The element force and moment are unaffected and will be updated during the next cycle. One
can ensure the existence of contacts between all pieces with a contact gap less than a specified bonding gap (
proximity in the cmat default command of the Contact Model Assignment Table (CMAT).
) by specifying
with the
Unbond
Unbond element ( ) if the contact gap between the pieces is within the bonding-gap interval. If no gap is specified, then the element is unbonded if
the pieces overlap. A single value can be specified with the gap keyword corresponding to the maximum gap. If an element number ( ) is not
specified, then unbond all elements. If the element becomes unbonded, then the element bond state becomes unbonded (
force and moment are unaffected and will be updated during the next cycle.
Callback Events
Event
). The element
Table 4: Flat-Joint Model Callback Events

Array Slot
Value Type
Range
C_PNT
NA
Description
Slip state of element ( e ) has changed.
slip_change
contact address
2
3
INT
{0,1}
C_PNT
NA
Slip change mode

Bond of element ( e ) has broken.
bond_break
Contact address
2
INT
{1,2}
Break mode
[1] Element numbering is shown in figures above.
Expressions for Element Normal Force and Bending Moment

Analytical expressions for the element normal force and bending moment (
and
) are presented here. These expressions are obtained by
integrating the interface normal stress over the element. The element normal force and bending moment satisfy:
(30)
where
is the interface normal stress of Equation (17),
is the moment arm w.r.t. the element centroid, and the integration is performed over
element ( ). These integrals are {evaluated exactly in 2D; and approximated in 3D}.
For the 2D model, the integrals are evaluated exactly as follows. The gap across the element (see Figure 14) is given by
(31)
where
and
are the values of the gap at the element ends (obtained by evaluating Equation (3) at these locations) and
is the element
half-length.
Page 13 of 14
Figure 14: Variation of interface gap over a typical 2D element.
The element is mapped into one of the following three cases (in order): (1) the gap changes sign within the element (
remains positive or zero
; or (3) the gap remains negative (
and
); (2) the gap
).
The integrals in Equation (30) are expressed in the element system by

(32)
where the
term of the interface normal stress of Equation (17) is expressed via Equation (31). These integrals are evaluated analytically for
each case to yield (with the superscript
notation dropped for the
, and
terms):
(33)
(34)
(35)
(36)
For the 3D model, it is assumed that the normal stress is constant over the element and equal to its value at the element centroid[4] such that
(37)
where
is the gap at the element centroid obtained by evaluating Equation (10) at the element centroid.
Usage and Verification Examples

The "Rock Testing" example application demonstrates compressive and tensile strength tests applied to simple BPMs using the linear parallel bond
and flat joint contact models.
Endnotes
[1]
Cracks in the 2D flat-jointed material are depicted as colored lines lying on the interface between the two disk-shaped pebbles, with color
denoting breakage mode and with line thickness proportional to the element gap. Cracks in the 3D flat-jointed material are depicted as
colored octagons lying on the interface between the two spherical pebbles, with color denoting breakage mode.
[2]
The kinematic formulation approximates the motion of two notional surfaces, each of which is connected rigidly to a piece of a body. A
Page 14 of 14
limitation of the current formulation is that when two bodies joined by a flat-joint contact are moved tangentially to one another, the interface
gap increases (because
increases). It may be possible to remove this limitation by introducing an alternative interface coordinate system
that does not rotate under the above condition.
[3]
It is assumed that the shear stress arising from relative twist rotation is constant over the element and equal to its value at the element
centroid. An inaccuracy introduced by this assumption is that the twisting moment is zero w.r.t. the element centroid. The interface shear
stress arising from relative twist rotation actually varies linearly over the element, which makes the twisting moment nonzero w.r.t. the element
centroid. As a result, the twisting moment at the center of the interface converges to the correct value from below as the discretization is
refined. A similar assumption and associated inaccuracy exists for the bending moment of the 3D flat-joint model.
[4]
An inaccuracy introduced by this assumption is that the bending moment is zero w.r.t. the element centroid. The interface normal stress
actually varies linearly over the element, which makes the bending moment nonzero w.r.t. the element centroid. As a result, the bending
moment at the center of the interface converges to the correct value from below as the discretization is refined. A similar assumption and
associated inaccuracy exists for the twisting moment of the 3D flat-joint model.
Model Summary
An alphabetical list of the flat-joint contact model methods is given here. An alphabetical list of the flat-joint contact model properties is given
here.
References
[Potyondy2013] Potyondy, D. (2013) PFC3D Flat-Joint Contact Model (version 1), Itasca Consulting Group, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, Technical
Memorandum ICG7234-L, June 25, 2013.
[Potyondy2012a] Potyondy, D. (2012a) PFC2D Flat-Joint Contact Model, Itasca Consulting Group, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, Technical Memorandum
ICG7138-L, July 26, 2012.
[Potyondy2012b] Potyondy, D.O. (2012b) A Flat-Jointed Bonded-Particle Material for Hard Rock, paper ARMA 12-501 in Proceedings of 46th U.S.
Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium, Chicago, USA, 2427 June 2012.
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Copyright 2015, Itasca Consulting Group Inc. Last updated on Aug 14, 2015.

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Flat-Joint Contact Model