Simulation of earthquake‐induced slope deformation using SPH method

This paper presents the development, calibration, and validation of a smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) model for the simulation of seismically induced slope deformation under undrained condition. A constitutive model that combines the isotropic strain softening viscoplasticity and the modified Kondner and Zelasko rule is developed and implemented into SPH formulations. The developed SPH model accounts for the effects of wave propagation in the sliding mass, cyclic nonlinear behavior of soil, and progressive reduction in shear strength during sliding, which are not explicitly considered in various Newmark‐type analyses widely used in the current research and practice in geotechnical earthquake engineering. Soil parameters needed for the developed model can be calibrated using typical laboratory shear strength tests, and experimental or empirical shear modulus reduction curve and damping curve. The strain‐rate effects on soil strength are considered. The developed SPH model is validated against a readily available and well‐documented model slope test on a shaking table. The model simulated slope failure mode, acceleration response spectra, and slope deformations are in excellent agreement with the experimental data. It is thus suggested that the developed SPH model may be utilized to reliably simulate earthquake‐induced slope deformations. This paper also indicates that if implemented with appropriate constitutive models, SPH method can be used to model large‐deformation problems with high fidelity. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lagrangian meshfree particles method (SPH) for large deformation and failure flows of geomaterial using elastic–plastic soil constitutive model

Simulation of large deformation and post‐failure of geomaterial in the framework of smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) are presented in this study. The Drucker–Prager model with associated and non‐associated plastic flow rules is implemented into the SPH code to describe elastic–plastic soil behavior. In contrast to previous work on SPH for solids, where the hydrostatic pressure is often estimated from density by an equation of state, this study proposes to calculate the hydrostatic pressure of soil directly from constitutive models. Results obtained in this paper show that the original SPH method, which has been successfully applied to a vast range of problems, is unable to directly solve elastic–plastic flows of soil because of the so‐called SPH tensile instability. This numerical instability may result in unrealistic fracture and particles clustering in SPH simulation. For non‐cohesive soil, the instability is not serious and can be completely removed by using a tension cracking treatment from soil constitutive model and thereby give realistic soil behavior. However, the serious tensile instability that is found in SPH application for cohesive soil requires a special treatment to overcome this problem. In this paper, an artificial stress method is applied to remove the SPH numerical instability in cohesive soil. A number of numerical tests are carried out to check the capability of SPH in the current application. Numerical results are then compared with experimental and finite element method solutions. The good agreement obtained from these comparisons suggests that SPH can be extended to general geotechnical problems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An improved SPH method for saturated soils and its application to investigate the mechanisms of embankment failure: Case of hydrostatic pore‐water pressure

The method of smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) has recently been applied to computational geomechanics and has been shown to be a powerful alternative to the standard numerical method, that is, the finite element method, for handling large deformation and post‐failure of geomaterials. However, very few studies apply the SPH method to model saturated or submerged soil problems. Our recent studies of this matter revealed that significant errors may be made if the gradient of the pore‐water pressure is handled using the standard SPH formulation. To overcome this problem and to enhance the SPH applications to computational geomechanics, this article proposes a general SPH formulation, which can be applied straightforwardly to dry and saturated soils. For simplicity, the current work assumes hydrostatic pore‐water pressure. It is shown that the proposed formulation can remove the numerical error mentioned earlier. Moreover, this formulation automatically satisfies the dynamic boundary conditions at a submerged ground surface, thereby saving computational cost. Discussions on the applications of the standard and new SPH formulations are also given through some numerical tests. Furthermore, techniques to obtain the correct SPH solution are also proposed and discussed throughout. As an application of the proposed method, the effect of the dilatancy angle on the failure mechanism of a two‐sided embankment subjected to a high groundwater table is presented and compared with that of other solutions. Finally, the proposed formulation can be considered a basic formulation for further developments of SPH for saturated soils. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Frictional contact algorithms in SPH for the simulation of soil–structure interaction

Simulation of frictional contact between soils and rigid or deformable structure in the framework of smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) is presented in this study. Two algorithms are implemented into the SPH code to describe contact behavior, where the contact forces are calculated using the law of conservation of momentum based on ideal plastic collision or using the criteria of partial penetrating. In both algorithms, the problem of boundary deficiency inherited from SPH is properly handled so that the particles located at contact boundary can have precise acceleration, which is critical for contact detection. And the movement and rotation of the rigid structure are taken into account so that it is easy to simulate the process of pile driving or movement of a retaining wall in geotechnical engineering analysis. Furthermore, the capability of modeling deformability of a structure during frictional contact simulations broadens the fields of SPH application. In contrast to previous work dealing with contact in SPH, which usually use particle‐to‐particle contact or ignoring sliding between particles and solid structure, the method proposed here is more efficient and accurate, and it is suitable to simulate interaction between soft materials and rigid or deformable structures, which are very common in geotechnical engineering. A number of numerical tests are carried out to verify the accuracy and stability of the proposed algorithms, and their results are compared with analytical solutions or results from finite element method analysis. Good agreement obtained from these comparisons suggests that the proposed algorithms are robust and can be applied to extend the capability of SPH in solving geotechnical problems. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Discrete element method simulations of the seismic response of shallow foundations including soil‐foundation‐structure interaction

A novel three‐dimensional particle‐based technique utilizing the discrete element method is proposed to analyze the seismic response of soil‐foundation‐structure systems. The proposed approach is employed to investigate the response of a single‐degree‐of‐freedom structure on a square spread footing founded on a dry granular deposit. The soil is idealized as a collection of spherical particles using discrete element method. The spread footing is modeled as a rigid block composed of clumped particles, and its motion is described by the resultant forces and moments acting upon it. The structure is modeled as a column made of particles that are either clumped to idealize a rigid structure or bonded to simulate a flexible structure of prescribed stiffness. Analysis is done in a fully coupled scheme in time domain while taking into account the effects of soil nonlinear behavior, the possible separation between foundation base and soil caused by rocking, the possible sliding of the footing, and the dynamic soil‐foundation interaction as well as the dynamic characteristics of the superstructure. High fidelity computational simulations comprising about half a million particles were conducted to examine the ability of the proposed technique to model the response of soil‐foundation‐structure systems. The computational approach is able to capture essential dynamic response patterns. The cyclic moment–rotation relationships at the base center point of the footing showed degradation of rotational stiffness by increasing the level of strain. Permanent deformations under the foundation continued to accumulate with the increase in number of loading cycles. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A smoothed particle hydrodynamics modelling of soil–water mixing and resulting changes in average strength

Soil–water interaction is a pivotal process in many underwater geohazards such as underwater landslides where soil sediments gradually evolve into turbidity currents after interactions with ambient water. Due to the large deformations, multiphase interactions and phase changes this involves, investigations from numerical modelling of the transition process have been limited so far. This study explores a simple numerical replication of such soil–water mixing with respect to changes in average strength using smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). A uniform viscoplastic model is used for both the solid-like and fluid-like SPH particles. The proposed numerical solution scheme is verified by single-phase dam break tests and multiphase simple shear tests. SPH combinations of solid-like and fluid-like particles can replicate the clay–water mixture as long as the liquidity index of the solid-like particles is larger than unity. The proposed numerical scheme is shown to capture key features of an underwater landslide such as hydroplaning, water entrainment and wave generation and thus shows promise as a tool to simulate the whole process of subaquatic geohazards involving solid–fluid transition during mass transport.     

Stability analysis of membrane‐reinforced curved earth retaining walls,using a multiphase approach

The stability analysis of curved earth retaining walls, stabilized by reinforcing membranes, is investigated by means of a multiphase model developed in the framework of the yield design approach. This model is an extension of that previously developed for soils reinforced by linear inclusions. It combines the advantage of a homogenization approach in terms of improved computational efficiency, with its capability to account for a specific soil–reinforcement failure condition, in a rational and systematic way. Application of this model is performed on the illustrative example of a cylindrical‐reinforced retaining wall by means of the kinematic approach of yield design, which provides upper bound estimates for the retaining wall stability factor. Nondimensional charts are finally presented assessing the influence of relevant parameters such as the curvature of the wall, the length of the reinforcing membranes or the reinforcement pull‐out resistance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical modeling of multiphase fluid flow in deforming porous media: A comparison between two- and three-phase models for seismic analysis of earth and rockfill dams

In this paper, a fully coupled numerical model is presented for the finite element analysis of the deforming porous medium interacting with the flow of two immiscible compressible wetting and non-wetting pore fluids. The governing equations involving coupled fluid flow and deformation processes in unsaturated soils are derived within the framework of the generalized Biot theory. The displacements of the solid phase, the pressure of the wetting phase and the capillary pressure are taken as the primary unknowns of the present formulation. The other variables are incorporated into the model using the experimentally determined functions that define the relationship between the hydraulic properties of the porous medium, i.e. saturation, relative permeability and capillary pressure. It is worth mentioning that the imposition of various boundary conditions is feasible notwithstanding the choice of the primary variables. The modified Pastor–Zienkiewicz generalized constitutive model is introduced into the mathematical formulation to simulate the mechanical behavior of the unsaturated soil. The accuracy of the proposed mathematical model for analyzing coupled fluid flows in porous media is verified by the resolution of several numerical examples for which previous solutions are known. Finally, the performance of the computational algorithm in modeling of large-scale porous media problems including the large elasto-plastic deformations is demonstrated through the fully coupled analysis of the failure of two earth and rockfill dams. Furthermore, the three-phase model is compared to its simplified one which simulates the unsaturated porous medium as a two-phase one with static air phase. The paper illustrates the shortcomings of the commonly used simplified approach in the context of seismic analysis of two earth and rockfill dams. It is shown that accounting the pore air as an independent phase significantly influences the unsaturated soil behavior.     

基于混合离散的砌石挡土墙边坡极限承载力下限分析

将极限分析下限法理论、混合数值离散思想和线性规划结合起来研究砌石挡土墙边坡的极限承载力。采用三角形有限单元离散土体来模拟土体的连续介质力学特性,构建土体静力许可应力场的约束条件,采用块体单元离散砌石体来模拟砌石体的非连续介质力学特性,构建砌石挡土墙的静力许可应力场的约束条件;同时建立有限元单元和块体单元交界面的约束条件;然后以超载系数为目标函数建立求解砌石挡土墙极限承载力的下限法线性规划模型,并使用内点算法进行最优化求解,获得边坡的极限荷载（或安全系数）和对应的应力场。通过3个算例的分析验证了所提方法的正确性。所提方法是将混合数值离散思想引入极限分析领域的一次尝试。     

Influence of gas generation in electro‐osmosis consolidation

This paper presents a numerical model for the elasto‐plastic electro‐osmosis consolidation of unsaturated clays experiencing large strains, by considering electro‐osmosis and hydro‐mechanical flows in a deformable multiphase porous medium. The coupled governing equations involving the pore water flow, pore gas flow, electric flow and mechanical deformation in unsaturated clays are derived within the framework of averaging theory and solved numerically using finite elements. The displacements of the solid phase, the pressure of the water phase, the pressure of the gas phase and the electric potential are taken as the primary unknowns in the proposed model. The nonlinear variation of transport parameters during electro‐osmosis consolidation are incorporated into the model using empirical expressions that strongly depend on the degree of water saturation, whereas the Barcelona Basic Model is employed to simulate the elasto‐plastic mechanical behaviour of unsaturated clays. The accuracy of the proposed model is evaluated by validating it against two well‐known numerical examples, involving electro‐osmosis and unsaturated soil behaviour respectively. Two further examples are then investigated to study the capability of the computational algorithm in modelling multiphase flow in electro‐osmosis consolidation. Finally, the effects of gas generation at the anode, the deformation characteristics, the degree of saturation and the time dependent evolution of the excess pore pressure are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

考虑土体硬化的基坑开挖性状及隆起稳定性分析

基坑开挖过程中,土体应力路径、卸载回弹再压缩特性与简单加载或卸载不同,采用常规的理想弹塑性模型模拟基坑开挖,得到的围护墙位移、坑内土体回弹以及坑外沉降较大。分析了基坑开挖不同区域土体的性状,采用土体硬化模型模拟基坑开挖的卸载与土体硬化行为,结合工程算例,对比土体硬化模型和理想弹塑性模拟以及实测的围护结构土压力、围护墙水平位移和坑外土体沉降,并利用强度折减法分析基坑的稳定性。计算结果表明,考虑土体硬化的HS模型有限元方法能体现土体卸载再加载与开挖的特性,所得土压力、围护结构水平位移以及基坑抗隆起稳定性符合软土地区基坑工程的实践。     

基于HBP本构模型的泥石流动力过程SPH数值模拟

本构模型是描述泥石流流变特性的关键,也是决定其动力过程数值模拟准确性的核心问题之一。泥石流流体属多相混合物,现有的研究已证实其存在剪切增稠或剪切变稀的现象,传统基于Bingham及Cross线性本构关系的数值模型难以准确描述泥石流流变特性。文中探讨了Bingham模型在低剪应变率下的数值发散问题,在光滑粒子流体动力学（SPH）方法框架上建立了整合Herschel-Bulkley-Papanastasiou(HBP）本构关系的稀性泥石流动力过程三维数值模型。相比传统基于浅水波假设的二维数值模型,所述方法从三维尺度建立SPH形式下的泥石流浆体纳维?斯托克斯方程并进行数值求解,可获取泥石流速度场时空分布及堆积形态,同时采用HBP本构关系描述泥石流流变特性,能在确保数值收敛的前提下反映泥石流流体在塑性屈服过渡段及大变形状态下应力?应变的非线性变化。为验证提出方法的合理性,结合小型模型槽实验观测进行了对比,结果表明数值模拟与实测结果基本吻合。     

Modeling the 2D behavior of dry‐stone retaining walls by a fully discrete element method

The dry‐stone retaining walls (DSRW) have been tipped as a promising solution for sustainable development. However, before recently, their behavior is relatively obscure. In this study, discrete element method (DEM) approach was applied to simulate the plane strain failure of these walls. A commercial DEM package (PFC2D™) was used throughout this study. The authors used a fully discrete approach; thus, both the wall and the backfill were modeled as discrete elements. The methodology for obtaining the micromechanical parameters was discussed in detail; this includes the three mechanical sub‐systems of DSRWs: wall, backfill and interface. The models were loaded progressively until failure, and then the results were compared with the full‐scale experimental results where the walls were loaded, respectively, with hydrostatic load and backfill. Despite its complexity and its intensive calculation time, DEM model can then be used to validate a more simplified approach. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical investigation of pile installation effects in sand using material point method

The installation of displacement piles in sand leads to severe changes in the stress state, density and soil properties around the pile tip and shaft, and therefore has a significant influence on the pile bearing capacity. Most current numerical methods predicting pile capacity do not take installation effects into account, as large deformations can lead to mesh distortion and non-converging solutions. In this study, the material point method (MPM) is applied to simulate the pile installation process and subsequent static pile loading tests. MPM is an extension of the finite element method (FEM), which is capable of modelling large deformations and soil-structure interactions. This study utilizes the moving mesh algorithm where a redefined computational mesh is applied in the convective phase. This allows a fine mesh to be maintained around the pile tip during the installation process and improves the accuracy of the numerical scheme, especially for contact formulation. For the analyses a hypoplastic constitutive model for sand is used, which takes into account density and stress dependent behaviour. The model performs well in situations with significant stress level changes because it accounts for very high stresses at the pile tip. Numerical results agree with centrifuge experiments at a gravitational level of 40 g. This analysis confirms the importance of pile installation effects in numerical simulations, as well as the proposed numerical approach’s ability to simulate installation and static load tests of jacked displacement piles.     

基于三维并行SPH模型的土体流滑特性研究

土体的大变形流滑导致了许多地质灾害的发生,对人们的生命财产安全构成了极大的威胁,因此越来越多的研究开始关注土体的大变形流滑特性。其中,光滑粒子流体动力学（SPH）方法是常用的模拟方法之一,但SPH方法的粒子特性导致其计算时间过长,影响了在工程地质领域的进一步应用。对此,本研究基于SPH方法的基本原理、非牛顿流体理论和等效黏度概念,提出了适用于土体大变形流滑分析的三维SPH仿真模型。结合OpenMP并行计算原理,实现了SPH算法的并行优化。在此基础上,对土体流滑模型试验进行了二维和三维分析,得到了滑动距离、滑动冲击力和冲击力峰值等动力学参数,分析了计算维数和边界条件对流滑特性的影响机制。通过不同线程数下计算时间的对比,获得了计算效率随线程数的变化规律。结果证明了本文的OpenMP并行优化具有较高的计算效率,显著降低了三维SPH模拟的计算耗时,对工程地质数值方法的效率提升具有重要的借鉴意义。     

土与结构间接触面的非线性弹性-理想塑性模型及其应用

将非线性弹性理论与弹塑性理论相结合,对于土与结构间接触面提出了一种非线性弹性-理想塑性模型,用于模拟土与结构相互作用体系的变形与破坏机理。推导建立了这种接触面单元的应力-应变关系和弹塑性系数矩阵,并且讨论了这种模型在基坑开挖与支护分析应用中所面临的数值计算问题。最后针对某一基坑工程实例,应用这种接触面模型进行了数值计算与分析,结果表明,该模型能够较合理地模拟接触面上的变形机理与受力状态。     

A two‐dimensional coupled hydromechanical discontinuum model for simulating rock hydraulic fracturing

Within the framework of our discontinuous deformation analysis for rock failure algorithm, this paper presents a two‐dimensional coupled hydromechanical discontinuum model for simulating the rock hydraulic fracturing process. In the proposed approach, based on the generated joint network, the calculation of fluid mechanics is performed first to obtain the seepage pressure near the tips of existing cracks, and then the fluid pressure is treated as linearly distributed loads on corresponding block boundaries. The contribution of the hydraulic pressure to the initiation/propagation of the cracks is considered by adding the components of these blocks into the force matrix of the global equilibrium equation. Finally, failure criteria are applied at the crack tips to determine the occurrence of cracking events. Several verification examples are simulated, and the results show that this newly proposed numerical model can simulate the hydraulic fracturing process correctly and effectively. Although the numerical and experimental verifications focus on one unique preexisting crack, because of the capability of discontinuous deformation analysis in simulating block‐like structures, the proposed approach is capable of modeling rock hydraulic fracturing processes. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new SPH-based approach to simulation of granular flows using viscous damping and stress regularisation

The smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method was recently extended to simulate granular materials by the authors and demonstrated to be a powerful continuum numerical method to deal with the post-flow behaviour of granular materials. However, most existing SPH simulations of granular flows suffer from significant stress oscillation during the post-failure process, despite the use of an artificial viscosity to damp out stress fluctuation. In this paper, a new SPH approach combining viscous damping with stress/strain regularisation is proposed for simulations of granular flows. It is shown that the proposed SPH algorithm can improve the overall accuracy of the SPH performance by accurately predicting the smooth stress distribution during the post-failure process. It can also effectively remove the stress oscillation issue in the standard SPH model without having to use the standard SPH artificial viscosity that requires unphysical parameters. The predictions by the proposed SPH approach show very good agreement with experimental and numerical results reported in the literature. This suggests that the proposed method could be considered as a promising continuum alternative for simulations of granular flows.     

A multiphase approach to the stability analysis of reinforced earth structures accounting for a soil–strip failure condition

A multiphase model, developed in the context of elastoplasticity, is applied to the simulation and design of reinforced earth retaining structures. The main feature of this model is to combine the advantage of a homogenization approach, as regards its computational efficiency, with the ability to account for a specific failure condition at the interface between the soil and the reinforcing strips, which may have a decisive influence on the behavior of the structure. A particular emphasis is put on the stability analysis of this kind of reinforced soil structures, formulated within the framework of the yield design theory. Making use of a generalized rigid block failure mechanism, the stability of a reinforced earth retaining wall is investigated by means of the kinematic approach, leading to upper bound estimates for the stability factor of the structure, which are then favorably compared with the results of an elastoplastic analysis. Special attention is paid to assessing in a quantitative way how a specific soil–strip failure condition affects the stability of the reinforced earth structure as a whole.     

SPH approach for simulating hydro-mechanical processes with large deformations and variable permeabilities

A simulation framework based on Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) is introduced to model problems involving the interaction between flowing water and soil deformation. Changes in soil porosity and associated permeability are automatically adjusted within this framework. The framework’s capabilities are presented and discussed for three geotechnical problems caused by flowing water. The comparison between simulation results and experiments shows that SPH with the proposed concept is capable of quantitatively simulating the hydro-mechanical processes beyond limit state with satisfactory agreement. To improve the computational stability, a correction procedure and a new algorithm for the selection of the optimal time step are introduced.