Résumé
The physical phenomena related to the erosion of granular materials by a fluid flow are ubiquitous and often present major challenges and threats to a wide range of civil engineering constructions and infrastructures. Catastrophic earth-dam failures and large sinkholes are just some of the possible outcomes of the different forms of erosion (a.o. surface erosion, suffusion, piping, backwards erosion, etc...) [1]. However, little is known about the actual mechanical origins of erosion, while theassessment of erodibility is generally performed by means of experimental tests and empirical correlations (see e.g. [2]). Here we provide a general overview of some current research models aiming to clarify the micromechanical phenomena and their macromechanical consequences taking place in different erosion scenarios [3, 4]. The employed numerical techniques rely on the coupling of two well-stablished particle methods for the fluid and solid phases, namely the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) and the Discrete Element Method (DEM) respectively. Further ingredients of our numerical models include an elastoplastic cohesion model for intergranular solid bridges [5] and a subcritical debonding model for the simulation of transient damage processes within the soil matrix [6].