Cofin 2003
D.I.C.A.- Politecnico di Bari- Via Re David
200 70125 Bari (Italy)
We study the mechanical behavior of a granular material idealized through a random aggregate of identical elastic spheres. We present a recent calculation by Jenkins, Johnson, La Ragione and Makse (J.M.P.S. , vol. 1, 2005) of effective moduli for a frictionless aggregate of particles. We indicate the rule of the fluctuations into the incremental stress- strain relation and how we may determine them through equilibrium equations. In natural way we introduce heterogeneity in the geometry and interactions of the pair with its neighbors.