Understanding the mechanisms involved in soil compaction is fundamental to design tools that mitigate or restore soil structure damage. Arable soils are particularly complex to study due to the discontinuity of the medium and the interaction with living organisms.
The propagation of tension in particulate media is an approach that allows to investigate the mechanical effects of the compaction in the structure of the material. The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is a numerical approach that allows investigating all parameters of interest through simulations.
The video shows the rearrangement of the particles due to tire loading that changes the void content of the soil, impacting the productivity of agricultural soils.
