An analytical model is proposed to analyze the effects of sliding and debonding of the interface between the pile and the surrounding soil on the soil reaction under a lateral load. Based on the approximate three-dimensional analytical model, the vanishing stress assumption is also employed to satisfy the stress-free soil surface condition. Referring to the distribution of stresses on the pile-soil

Due to a lack of large deformation dyke assessment models, primary failure mechanisms, such as inner slope failure, are often used as a proxy to assess the probability of failure of a dyke. However, a dyke continues to fulfil its main function unless, or until, flooding occurs. The Random Material Point Method (RMPM) is used here to investigate residual dyke resistance, which is the resistance against

This paper presents a methodology for computing the response of a rigid strip footing in incompressible Tresca soil when loaded to large settlements. The numerical simulations were performed using the generalized interpolation material point method (GIMP). For efficiency, a block-structured rectilinear irregular grid was used that moves and compresses as the footing advances. Volumetric locking was

Micro-cracks are known to greatly affect the mechanical properties of granite and subcritical crack growth (SCG) is considered to be the main mechanism of brittle creep in rocks, including granite. Here, we provide new uniaxial compressive strength and creep experiments for Lanhélin granite, and a new multi-crack numerical model to explain the experimental observations. We first thermally-stressed

This paper aims to give a micromechanical investigation into the progressive size reduction mechanism and its effects on macro responses of granular assemblies during confined compression tests. A series of numerical studies based on the cohesive zone model are presented, incorporating internal deformation and fragmentation behaviors, and the variations of feed profiles are considered. Simulation results

A rigorous adaptive lower bound limit analysis method with 3-noded element (LB-FELA) is adopted to discuss the tunnel stability and failure mechanism of dual unlined horseshoe-shaped tunnels in non-homogeneous clays. The clays mass has heterogeneity, where the shear strength increases linearly with depth. This problem is defined as a plane strain analysis model. The calculation results are provided

Non-linear flow behavior in rough fractures with shear dislocations is numerically investigated in this study with the validated multi-relaxation time lattice Boltzmann method. Fracture flow tests with different degrees of fractal roughness are simulated and the results show that the surface roughness has an inhibiting effect on fracture flow. With increasing roughness parameter, the effective transmissivity

Random adaptive finite element limit analysis (RAFELA) is introduced to investigate the stability of the footing-voids system with random soils. The emphasis of this study is, for the footing-void system, on quantifying the influence of spatial variability on its bearing capacity and the failure probability. Of particular interest is that random field theory is utilized to characterize the spatial

This study proposes a cross-correlation map-based borehole deployment approach for two-dimensional probabilistic slope stability analysis. This approach designs the layout of the proper number of boreholes based on the cross-correlation between the factor of safety and spatially variable soil strength every part of a slope. Numerically synthesized, undrained slopes are investigated as examples to illustrate

This article develops an Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) finite element program for liquefaction dynamic analysis of saturated sand based on the updated Lagrange finite element program in U-P form. Based on the operator splitting technique, this method adopts the displacements of boundary points and Radial Basis Function (RBF) method to optimize the mesh, and employs super-convergence elements

This paper presents a tool to estimate the stresses, and thus the expected forces, at a retaining wall by the installation of piles. The solution method is based on Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) and the soil is modeled using a simplified hypoplastic material law. In order to correctly compute the forces on the soil due to the contact between the pile and the soil, a formulation for imposing

This work presents a fully coupled constitutive model for thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils. This model, with 18 parameters, can consider the primary features of unsaturated soils, such as mechanical responses at various temperatures and matric suctions, drying/wetting behaviour (water retention curves and volumetric strain) at various temperatures and net stresses, and thermal

For electro-osmotic consolidation in unsaturated soils, coupled deformation, inconsistent changes in hydraulic conductivity and electro-osmotic permeability with matric suction, and a decrease in effective voltage with time occur simultaneously. To consider all of these processes, an analytical solution was proposed. The time-stepping method was adopted in the calculation of the solution to depict

This study describes the development and implementation of a numerical procedure for the analysis of coupled geotechnical problems involving finite deformations, changing boundary conditions, multiphase porous media and softening behaviour. The numerical scheme is first validated through a benchmark problem concerning the laying of an on-bottom offshore pipeline, and then some further highlights of

The stability analysis of soil and rock structures reinforced by groups made of a large number of regularly distributed inclusions, may be appropriately performed by resorting to a multiphase model incorporating a soil-reinforcement failure criterion, as well as the shear and bending resistance of the reinforcements. This contribution develops the numerical implementation of both the lower and upper

This paper presents a numerical method to efficiently calculate the required overpressure for hydraulic pile extraction. The method uses a one-dimensional (1D) model involving two steps: (1) the steady state hydraulic pressure distribution is calculated for a unit pressure using a finite element model and (2) the required overpressure is calculated using finite element limit analysis. This combined

The Standard Penetration Test (SPT) is the most popular example of dynamic probing, a large category of soil testing techniques. Understanding and interpretation of these tests is hampered by the difficulties of reproducing them under controlled laboratory conditions. The virtual calibration chamber technique, based on the Discrete Element Method (DEM), may supplement or substitute this complex experimentation

With growing research interest of liquefied natural gas storage in underground frozen host rock cavern, it is the key to have a comprehensive understanding of rock deformation and cracking under freezing and their impact on the stability of the underground storage caverns. In this work, a coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical model is developed in the framework of TOUGH-FEMM simulator to gain such understanding

With rapid economic development in China, the railway network extends from Northeast to Northwest China. Numerous tunnels are inevitably built in cold regions that experience frost damage. However, studies on the analytic solution of the stress and deformation for noncircular tunnels in cold regions are very limited. To solve this engineering problem and propose new theoretical insights for analysis

It is challenging to understand the stress wave response of cohesionless particle assemblies including compression and shear wave velocities (Vp and Vs) due to complicated particle-scale interactions particularly during a loading process. This contribution adopts the discrete element method to simulate triaxial compression experiments using spherical particles. Four samples are isotropically confined

The fundamental study of coupled thermal–hydraulic-mechanical (THM) systems is an important issue in multi-physical fields. This study developed a THM model in which the hydraulic and mechanical effects are fully coupled and the temperature change serves as the perturbation source of the system. A porothermoelasticity model was applied to investigate the cross-interactions among the temperature, change

Theoretical solutions of geotechnical engineering problems are generally based on simplifying assumptions about soil homogeneity and isotropy. In reality, soil masses are usually both anisotropic and heterogeneous in situ and thus, the effects of soil deposition orientation and stratification should be taken into account. In this context, the present paper describes a contribution towards a general

Internal erosion is one of the main factors that cause failure of soil slopes. This study presents a new modeling method that considers the change in the soil gradation during internal erosion. The porosity and seepage velocity are calculated using the mass-conservation equations of the solid and fluid parts of saturated soil. The erosion, deposition, and migration of fine particles are described by

In this paper, Covariance Matrix Adaption Evolution Strategy (CMA-ES) is used to optimally design soft and hard wave barriers in half-space soil medium subjected to moving train loadings. Special focus is given to two-phase saturated porous medium of soil and the differences between the barrier characteristics in saturated and dry media are highlighted. Wave propagation caused by moving trains in saturated

This study investigated the relationship between erosion-induced structural damage and lining displacement parameters for shield tunnelling using a finite element approach, which properly simulated the interaction between the eroded soil and tunnel structure as well as the details of the segmental liners. The interaction between the bolt rod and reserved bolt hole was simulated by a surface-surface

It is well known that the mechanical behaviour of pure sand is dependent on the internal soil structure, which can be affected by sample preparation methods. For fibre-reinforced sand (FRS), the sample preparation methods influence not only the internal structure of sand skeleton but also the distribution of fibre orientation and sand-fibre interaction. The effect of sample preparation methods on the

It has been shown that a recently developed class of numerical solutions referred to as node-based smoothed point interpolation methods (NSPIMs) can provide an upper bound solution in energy norm for force-driven elasticity problems. In this study, bound solution property of the NSPIMs is examined in plane-strain coupled problems of porous media, to explore how the presence of pore water pressure affects

The paper focuses on the seismic response of earth dams close to active faults. The engineering implications of such an issue may be crucial since many existing dams, which have been in operation for several years, are located nearby or even on seismogenic faults. Owing to their size, large earth dams could dramatically be compromised by near-source ground motion. The spatial variability of the incoming

This paper presents a theoretical study on a hybrid fabric evolution law for modelling anisotropic behaviour of granular media. In the hybrid evolution law, the rate of a contact normal-based fabric tensor is related to the rates of both stress ratio tensor and plastic strain. Assumptions and principles that were adopted for the development of the fabric evolution law are presented and discussed at

This paper presents a reliability-based methodology for failure assessment of reinforced rock slopes subjected to bolt corrosion. Strength failure of the rock bolt, bond failure between the rock bolt and the grout and bond failure between the rock and the grout are considered and their load effects are treated as stochastic processes. The failure probability of each failure mode was evaluated using

This paper aims to develop a discrete element method (DEM) framework applicable to two-dimensional star-shape particles with concave features. Particle contours are represented by the Fourier series expansion of radii to take advantage of its limited number of coefficients. The essential ingredients of DEM, i.e., contact detection and contact resolution, are tailored to consider the possible concave

Internal erosion and piping which can occur in embankment dams, levees, and their foundations is the cause of about half of large embankment dam failures. Most internal erosion and piping failures occur due to concentrated leak erosion which is commonly initiated in a transverse crack in the embankment resulting from cross valley differential settlements. This paper presents the development of suitable

Geosynthetic-encased stone column (GESC)-supported embankments are environmentally friendly methods and are increasingly being used for highways over soft soil. Based on a load-transfer mechanism of a GESC-supported embankment, a solution was obtained by considering the nonlinear elastic behaviours of the GESC and penetration of the column toe. The radial stress equilibrium of the GESC and the vertical

The back analysis method is widely used in geotechnical and geological engineering to guide construction and assure safety through feedback analysis and dynamic design. In this study, a back analysis framework was developed by combining a reduced-order model (ROM), simplicial homology global optimization (SHGO), and a numerical model. The ROM was used to approximate the response of the geotechnical

Improved knowledge of the size and velocity dependences of the normal restitution coefficient (NCOR) is necessary for extending the NCOR laboratory results to practical rockfall trajectory analysis. Hence, a new normal impact device was developed for conducting laboratory impact tests of marble spheres under a wide range of impact velocities. Compression tests of marble spheres were also conducted

The design of geosynthetic encasement is the most important factor that controls the performance of the geosynthetic-encased stone column (GESC) improved ground, and encasement length (Lenc) and geosynthetic stiffness (J) are two basic design items. Numerous continuum-based numerical models have been proposed to investigate the influence of geosynthetic encasement on the behavior of GESC improved ground

Backward erosion piping is an internal erosion process, which compromises the stability of water retaining structures such as dams and levees. In this paper, we propose a numerical solution that combines a 2D Darcy groundwater solution with Exner’s 1D sediment transport mass conservation equation. As an estimate of sediment transport, we tested four different empirical transport equations for laminar

A quantitative description of fracture surface morphology is crucial but cumbersome. Surface morphology influences important rock joint behavior, such as shear strength, fluid flow, contaminant transport and heat transfer. And while there are many suggestions and comparisons of roughness parameters, those are usually not considered in models and experiments dealing with surface roughness. This makes

In this study, the uplift load-carrying behavior of inclined micropiles (MP) embedded in various soil-rock layer conditions was investigated. For this purpose, a series of model load tests and finite element analyses were performed. The focus was given on the effects of MP inclination angle (θ) and rock-embedded ratio (Zr/L). For MPs in rock, the uplift load capacity (Qu,θ) was highest when vertically

The shear band due to strain localization is deemed a strong discontinuous plane in this study, and simulated by the numerical manifold method (NMM). The SMP (Spatially Mobilized Plane) criterion is incorporated into the Drucker-Prager (DP) model by the transformed stress (TS) method. The constitutive integration of plasticity is carried out on the new yielding surface with the tensile part being cut

Fully coupled fluid-mechanical numerical analyses using a nonlinear constitutive model to analyze soil deformation and liquefaction caused by monotonic or cyclic loading are challenging and in increasing demand. The constitutive model performance impacts the quality of the analysis and its practice-friendliness influences the calibration cost. The Dafalias-Manzari 2004 (DM04) two-surface model is a

Particle shape affects the mechanical properties of sands, but the underlying micro-mechanisms are not yet explored, at least partially, due to difficulties in accessing the particle scale information in the laboratory. This study aims to fill this gap through DEM by proposing a general framework for DEM simulation considering realistic particle shape and grading characteristics. Within the proposed

Experimental studies show that compacted bentonite used as a backfill material for nuclear waste repository experiences strong coupling between chemical and mechanical processes. In this paper, we use a dual-structure expansive soil model, referred to as the Barcelona Expansive Model (BExM), to predict the behavior of bentonite buffer in subsurface emplacement tunnels for high-level radioactive waste

A new simplified model for defective pile-soil interaction (DPSI) is developed to account for the three-dimensional (3D) effect in the pile integrity test (PIT) for large diameter piles. To account for the 3D effect, the defective pile is treated as linear continuum rather than the conventional 1D rod model. The surrounding soil is simulated employing the classical plane strain model and the soil resistance

Field data suggest that hydraulic fractures under in situ conditions are three-dimensional and non-planar in shale gas reservoirs. In this study, a fully coupled deformation, fracture growth, and fluid flow model is developed to simulate this complex phenomenon with a focus on the reduction of the total computational effort. An extended finite element method with high-order tip enrichment functions

This paper presents an information-gap approach (IGA) from a non-probabilistic viewpoint to perform rock tunnel reliability assessment when encountering one particular form of severely deficient information on the variability for the uncertain parameters of rock properties. Such a particular form of severe uncertainty corresponds to the circumstances, where there is nothing available to describe an