In recent years it has been shown that the micro-mechanics of one-dimensional normal compression of sands can be modelled in three-dimensions within the discrete element method [7]. The compression is displacement driven such that the top platen of the enclosing sample case is allowed to move at a constant or variable velocity. The test has been used to investigate sand behaviour such as compressibility and the evolution of the particle size distribution when particle crushing is permitted. This paper focuses on the findings related to energy dissipation under one-dimensional compression without particle crushing using the LIGGGHTS open source software. Energy tracing is done throughout the simulations by applying the energy conservation principle at every time step. This allows the evolution of energy dissipation to be determined. The relationship between energy dissipation and particle size distribution was investigated and is discussed in this paper. Understanding the relationship between grain scale properties and energy dissipation will help in the formulation of a constitutive relationship based on a hyperplasticity framework [8]. This could potentially lead to a shift in the way that continuum constitutive models are formulated, with numerical models truly being based on the constituents that they represent.