Fully coupled simulation of seismic ground response at centrifuge

Analysis of response of level ground subjected to earthquake is one of the most important problem in geotechnical engineering practice, which could be very complicated especially when saturated sand is involved, as material nonlinearity and soil-water interaction should be taken into account. A fully coupled simulation of seismic ground response at centrifuge was performed, by use of the finite element procedure SUMDES, incorporating a unified constitutive model for granular material. The analysis results show that the ability of fully coupled code to reproduce the whole picture observed in the test, including generation and dissipation of excess pore pressure and deformation of soil body. The importance of calibration of model parameters and determination of the corresponding coefficients, especially the coefficient of permeability is also demonstrated.