Glenn McDowell

Contact

• workRoom B56 Coates Building
  University Park
  Nottingham
  NG7 2RD
  UK
• work0115 951 4603
• fax0115 951 3898
• glenn.mcdowell@nottingham.ac.uk
• http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/%7Eevzgrm/evzgrm.html

Expertise Summary

Prof McDowell's research is in fundamental soil mechanics, focusing on micro mechanics and constitutive modelling, and he has 49 papers published or in press in international refereed academic journals. He is currently applying his knowledge of crushable soils to the problem of railway ballast degradation. He is also using discrete element modelling to further the understanding of micro mechanics of behaviour of granular materials, and of asphalt. He graduated from Churchill College, University of Cambridge in 1993 with a first class honours degree in Engineering, and stayed at Churchill College Cambridge to undertake a PhD in Clastic Soil Mechanics under the supervision of Prof Malcolm Bolton, and graduated in May 1997. He was awarded the University of Cambridge John Winbolt Prize in 1996 for his paper "The Fractal Crushing of Granular Materials". He became a Fellow of Churchill College in September 1996, having been a awarded the prestigious Goldsmith's Research Fellowship in materials. He was appointed as a Lecturer at Nottingham in May 1998, promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2003, Reader in Geomechanics in 2005 and Professor of Geomechanics from 1 January 2007. He was awarded the Silver Medal Awarded for 2005 by The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining: "a premier award awarded annually to a Younger Member in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the broad field of materials science, engineering and technology, including promotion of their subject on a national or international basis".

Research Summary

My research interests lie in the micro mechanics of soil behaviour. My aim is to understand the micro mechanical origins of soil parameters in order to produce new constitutive models for soil… read more

Recent Publications

• MCDOWELL, G.R., LI, H. and LOWNDES, I., 2011. The importance of particle shape in discrete element modelling of particle flow in a chute Geotechnique Letters. 1(3), 59-64
• WU, J., COLLOP, A.C. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2010. Discrete Element Modelling of Constant Strain Rate Compression Tests on an Idealised Asphalt Mixture ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering. 23(1), 2-11
• FERELLEC, J-F and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2010. Modelling realistic shape and particle inertia in DEM Geotechnique. 60(3), 227-232
• LU, M. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2010. Discrete element modelling of railway ballast under monotonic and cyclic triaxial loading Getechnique. 60(6), 459-467

• View all publications

Current Research

My research interests lie in the micro mechanics of soil behaviour. My aim is to understand the micro mechanical origins of soil parameters in order to produce new constitutive models for soil behaviour to aid geotechnical design.

Past Research

Micro mechanics, constitutive modelling, discrete element modelling

Future Research

Discrete element modelling, ballast mechanics, high pressure triaxial testing, centrifuge modelling, constitutive modelling

• MCDOWELL, G.R., LI, H. and LOWNDES, I., 2011. The importance of particle shape in discrete element modelling of particle flow in a chute Geotechnique Letters. 1(3), 59-64
• WU, J., COLLOP, A.C. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2010. Discrete Element Modelling of Constant Strain Rate Compression Tests on an Idealised Asphalt Mixture ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering. 23(1), 2-11
• FERELLEC, J-F and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2010. Modelling realistic shape and particle inertia in DEM Geotechnique. 60(3), 227-232
• LU, M. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2010. Discrete element modelling of railway ballast under monotonic and cyclic triaxial loading Getechnique. 60(6), 459-467
• GENG, Y., YU, H-S. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2010. Simulation of granular behaviour using DEM Procedia Earth and Planetary Science. 1(1), 598-605
• FERELLEC, J-F. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2010. A method to model realistic particle shape and inertia in DEM Granular Matter. 12(5), 459-467
• MCDOWELL, G.R., COLLOP, A.C. and WU, J., 2009. A dimensional analysis of scaling viscosity and velocity in DEM of constant strain rate tests on asphalt Geomechanics and Geoengineering. 4(2), 171-174
• AURSUDKIJ, B., MCDOWELL, G.R. and COLLOP, A.C., 2009. Cyclic loading of railway ballast under triaxial conditions and in a Railway Test Facility Granular Matter. 11(6), 391-401
• WU, J, COLLOP, A and MCDOWELL, G, 2008. Discrete Element Modelling Of Low Temperature Monotonic Compression Tests In An Idealised Asphalt Mixture
• FERELLEC, J-F and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2008. A simple method to create complex particle shapes for DEM Geomechanics and Geoengineering. 3(3), 211-216
• LU, M and MCDOWELL, G.R, 2008. Discrete element modelling of railway ballast under triaxial conditions Geomechanics and Geoengineeing. 3(4), 257-270
• BROWN, S.F., BRODRICK, B.V., THOM, N.H. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2007. The Nottingham railway test facility, UK Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Transport. 160(2), 59-65
• COLLOP, A.C and MCDOWELL, G.R. AND LEE, Y., 2007. On the use of discrete element modelling to simulate the viscoelastic deformation behaviour of an idealised asphalt mixture. Geomechanics and Geoengineering. 2(2), 77-86
• LIM, W.L. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2007. The importance of co-ordination number in using agglomerates to simulate crushable particles in the discrete element method Geotechnique. 57(8), 701-705 (In Press.)
• LU, M. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2007. The importance of modelling ballast particle shape in DEM Granular Matter. 9(1-2), 71-82
• LIM, W.L. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2007. The influence of co-ordination number on agglomerate strength In: Discrete element methods (DEM) 07, Brisbane, Australia, 27-29 August, 2007.. (In Press.)
• LACKENBY, J, INDRARATNA, B and MCDOWELL, G.R. AND CHRISTIE, D., 2007. Triaxial behaviour of ballast and the role of confining pressure under cyclic loading Geotechnique. 57(6), 527-536 (In Press.)
• LU, M. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2007. Reply to discussion on: Discrete element modelling of ballast abrasion. Geotechnique. 57(5), 479-480.
• MCDOWELL, G.R., HARIRECHE, O., KONIETZKY, H., BROWN, S.F. and THOM, N.H., 2006. Discrete element modelling of geogrid-reinforced aggregates Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Geotechnical Engineering. 159(1), 35-48
• COLLOP, A.C., MCDOWELL, G.R. and LEE, Y.W., 2006. Modelling dilation in an idealised asphalt mixture using discrete element modelling Granular Matter. 8(3-4), 175-184
• MCDOWELL, G.R. and STICKLEY, P., 2006. Performance of geogrid-reinforced ballast Ground Engineering. 39(1), 26-30
• LU, M. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2006. Discrete element modelling of ballast abrasion Geotechnique. 56(9), 651-655.
• HAU, K W, MCDOWELL, G R, ZHANG, G P AND BROWN, S F, 2005. The application of a three-surface kinematic hardening model to repeated loading of thinly surfaced pavements Granular Matter. 7(203), 145-156
• MCDOWELL, G.R., LIM, W.L., COLLOP, A.C., ARMITAGE, R. and THOM, N.H., 2005. Laboratory simulation of train loading and tamping on ballast Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Transport. 158(2), 89-96
• MCDOWELL, G.R., 2005. A physical justification for log e–log σ based on fractal crushing and particle kinematics Géotechnique. 55(9), 697-698
• HAU, K.W. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2005. Evaluating permissible subgrade rut depth in pavement design Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Geotechnical Engineering. 158(1), 45-56
• JIANG, M.J., YU, H.S., MCDOWELL, G.R. and HARRIS, D., 2005. What continuum model is expected in in-situ granular mechanics: observation in discrete element modelling of penetration tests In: Joint Mechanics and Materials Conference, ASCE/ASME.
• LIM, W.L., MCDOWELL, G.R. and COLLOP, A.C., 2005. Quantifying the relative strengths of railway ballasts Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Geotechnical Engineering. 158(2), 107-112
• LIM, W. L. and MCDOWELL, G. R., 2005. Discrete element modelling of railway ballast Granular Matter. VOL 7(NUMBER 1), 19-29
• MCDOWELL, G.R., 2005. The role of particle crushing in granular materials In: Modern Trends in Geomechanics.
• MCDOWELL, G.R., LIM, W.L., COLLOP, A.C., ARMITAGE, R. and THOM, N.H., 2004. Comparison of ballast index tests for railway trackbeds Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Geotechnical Engineering. 157(3), 151-161
• COLLOP, A.C., MCDOWELL, G.R. and LEE, Y., 2004. Use of the distinct element method to model the deformation behaviour of an idealised asphalt mixture The International Journal of Pavement Engineering. 5(1), 1-7
• LIM, W.L., MCDOWELL, G.R. and COLLOP, A.C., 2004. The application of Weibull statistics to the strength of railway ballast Granular Matter. 6(4), 229-238
• COLLOP, A.C., MCDOWELL, G.R. and LEE, Y., 2004. Modelling the behaviour of an idealised asphalt mixture using the distinct element method In: Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting.
• HAU, K.W. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2004. The use of a kinematic hardening model for estimating subgrade stiffnes in layered-elastic analyses The International Journal of Pavement Engineering. 5(2), 53-59
• MCDOWELL, G.R., LIM, W.L. and BUCHANAN, J., 2004. Performance of ballast mixtures Ground Engineering. 37(10), 28-31
• MCDOWELL, G. R. and HAU, K. W., 2004. A generalised Modified Cam clay model for clay and sand incorporating kinematic hardening and bounding surface plasticity Granular Matter. VOL 6(NUMB 1), 11-16
• MCDOWELL, G.R., 2004. Reply to discussion on: The micro mechanics of creep granular materials Geotechnique. 54(6), 427-428
• MCDOWELL, G.R., 2003. Micromechanics of creep of granular materials Géotechnique. 53(10), 915-916
• HARIRECHE, O. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2003. Discrete element modelling of cyclic loading of crushable aggregates Granular Matter. 5(3), 147-152
• MCDOWELL, G.R., LIM, W.L. and COLLOP, A.C., 2003. Measuring the strength of railway ballast Ground Engineering. 36(1), 25-28
• MCDOWELL, G. R. and HAU, K. W., 2003. A simple non-associated three surface kinematic hardening model Geotechnique. VOL 53(PART 4), 433-438
• MCDOWELL, G. R. and KHAN, J. J., 2003. Creep of granular materials Granular Matter. VOL 5(NUMB 3), 115-120
• MCDOWELL, G.R., NAKATA, Y. and HYODO, M., 2002. On the plastic hardening of sand Géotechnique. 52(5), 349-358
• MCDOWELL, G.R. and HARIRECHE, O., 2002. Discrete element modelling of yielding and normal compression of sand Géotechnique. 52(4), 299-304
• MCDOWELL, G.R., LIM, W.L., COLLOP, A.C. and BROWN, S.F., 2002. Micro mechanics of railway ballast degradation In: International Conference on Railway Engineering.
• MCDOWELL, G. R. and HARIRECHE, O., 2002. Discrete element modelling of soil particle fracture Geotechnique. VOL 52(PART 2), 131-136
• MCDOWELL, G. R., 2002. A simple non-associated flow model for sand Granular Matter. VOL 4(NUMB 2), 65-70
• MCDOWELL, G. R., 2002. On the Yielding and Plastic Compression of Sand SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS -TOKYO-. VOL 42(PART 1), 139-146
• MCDOWELL, G. R. and HUMPHREYS, A., 2002. Yielding of granular materials Granular Matter. VOL 4(NUMB 1), 1-8
• YU, H.., BROWN, S.F. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 2001. Dynamic coupled analysis for rutting in flexible pavement foundations under cyclic loading Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering. 23(6), 757-762
• MCDOWELL, G.R., 2001. Statistics of soil particle strength Géotechnique. 51(10), 897-900
• MCDOWELL, G.R., 2001. Discussion on: A probabilistic approach to sand particle crushing in the triaxial test by Y. Nakata, A.F.L. Hyde, M. Hyodo, M. and H. Murata Geotechnique. 51(3), 285-287
• MCDOWELL, G. R., 2001. A Student-centred Learning Approach to Teaching Soil Mechanics The International Journal of Engineering Education. VOL 17(PART 3), 255-260
• MCDOWELL, G.R. and DANIELL, C.M., 2001. Fractal compression of soil Geotechnique. 51(2), 173-176
• MCDOWELL, G. R. and BOLTON, M. D., 2001. Micro Mechanics of Elastic Soil SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS -TOKYO-. VOL 41(PART 6), 147-152
• MCDOWELL, G.R. and COLLOP, A.C., 2000. Student-centered learning in pavement and geotechnical engineering In: Civil and Structural Engineering in the 21st Century.
• MCDOWELL, G. R. and BOLTON, M. D., 2000. Effect of particle size distribution on pile tip resistance in calcareous sand in the geotechnical centrifuge Granular Matter. VOL 2(NUMB 4), 179-188
• MCDOWELL, G. R. and AMON, A., 2000. The Application of Weibull Statistics to the Fracture of Soil Particles SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS -TOKYO-. VOL 40(PART 5), 133-142
• MCDOWELL, G.R. and BOLTON, M.D., 2000. Reply to discussion on: The micro mechanics of crushable aggregates Geotechnique. 50(3), 315-318
• MCDOWELL, G. R., 2000. A Family of Yield Loci Based on Micro Mechanics SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS -TOKYO-. VOL 40(PART 6), 133-137
• MCDOWELL, G. R. and BOLTON, M. D., 1999. A micro mechanical model for isotropic cyclic loading of isotropically clastically compressed soil Granular Matter. VOL 1(NUMB 4), 183-194
• MCDOWELL, G.R., 1999. Micro mechanics of clastic soil In: 2nd International Workshop on Soil Crushability.
• MCDOWELL, G.R. and BOLTON, M.D., 1999. Effect of particle size distribution on pile penetration in calcareous sand in the geotechnical centrifuge In: 4th International Conference on Deep Foundation Practice Incorportating Piletalk International '99.
• MCDOWELL, G. R. and BOLTON, M. D., 1998. On the micromechanics of crushable aggregates Geotechnique. VOL 48(NUMBER 5), 667-680
• MCDOWELL, G.R. and BOLTON, M.D., 1997. A micro mechanical model for overconsolidated behaviour in soils In: Powders and Grains 97. 203-206
• MCDOWELL, G.R., BOLTON, M.D. and ROBERTSON, D., 1997. A numerical representation of fracturing granular materials International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics. 21, 825-843
• MCDOWELL, G. R., BOLTON, M. D. and ROBERTSON, D., 1996. The fractal crushing of granular materials Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids. VOL 44(NUMBER 12), 2079-2102
• BOLTON, M.D. and MCDOWELL, G.R., 1996. Clastic mechanics In: IUTAM Symposium on mechanics of granular and porous materials. 35-46
• BROWN, S.F., BRODRICK, B.V. and THOM, N.H. AND MCDOWELL, G.R., The Nottingham Railway Test Facility (In Press.)
• BROWN, S.F, BRODRICK, B.V and THOM, N.H. AND MCDOWELL, G.R., The Nottingham Railway Test Facility Proceeding of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Transport. (In Press.)