Developing an understanding of the relationship between dilation along shear bands and shear strength of soil has been the focus of much research in soil mechanics. While significant insight has been achieved using photographic techniques and X-ray methods, the accuracy and resolution of these measurements are limited. Discrete element methods are convenient tools to analyse the evolution of localizations in granular materials in some detail. The current paper describes the use of the distinct element method to quantify the incremental volumetric and shear strains along localizations in dense granular materials during compression tests. For idealized granular materials comprising uniform disks or spheres in regular packing arrangements, the incremental strains are relatively uniform along the shear band. There is also a clear correlation between the incremental volumetric strains along the localization and the macro-scale response. For irregular, non-uniform specimens this correlation is less clear and the incremental strains along the localization are highly non-uniform, with both contraction and dilation being observed within the zone of localization during a single increment of axial strain.
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