  A micro-hydromechanical model for granular materials is presented. It
combines the discrete element method (DEM) for the modeling of the solid phase
and a pore-scale finite volume (PFV) formulation for the flow of an
incompressible pore fluid. The coupling equations are derived and contrasted
against the equations of conventional poroelasticity. An analogy is found
between the DEM-PFV coupling and Biot's theory in the limit case of
incompressible phases. The simulation of an oedometer test validates the
coupling scheme and demonstrates the ability of the model to capture strong
poromechanical effects. A detailed analysis of microscale strain and stress
confirms the analogy with poroelasticity. An immersed deposition problem is
finally simulated and shows the potential of the method to handle phase
transitions.
