Yielding transition of stress controlled granular materials near jamming

¹ Department of Applied Physics, Tokyo University of Science, 6-3-1, Nijuku, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo 125–8585, Japan
² Department of Physics, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464–8602, Japan
³ National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8568, Japan
⁴ Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, 1–3 Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka 560–8531, Japan
⁵ Institute of Science and Engineering, Shimane University, 1060 Nishikawatsu-cho, Matsue, Shimane 690–8504, Japan

^* e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published online: 1 December 2025

Abstract

In this study, we numerically investigate the yielding behavior of frictional granular materials using stress-controlled simulations. The shear stress is applied to the granular materials, which induces shear deformation. When the applied stress is below the yield stress, the shear strain saturates at a finite value; however, it grows indefinitely over time once the stress exceeds the yield stress. Our numerical results suggest that the characteristic strain required for a mechanically stable state diverges discontinuously at the yielding point. The yielding point depends on the interparticle friction coefficient. We further examine how the characteristic strain depends on the distance from the yielding point, revealing a non-monotonic relationship with the interparticle friction coefficient.