Finite element simulation of the thermoviscoplastic behaviour of bituminous concrete

The general framework of the paper deals with the finite element modelling of thermomechanical problems involving viscous materials. The study focuses on the statement of constitutive equations describing the thermoviscoplastic behaviour of bituminous concrete, as well as on their implementation in a finite element program. After stating the general equations of the space- and time-continuous problem and the constitutive relations governing the viscoplastic component of the bituminous concrete behaviour, we deal with their integration over finite time steps, considering two different schemes. Eventually, two sets of numerical results are presented. The first one, an homogeneous triaxial test, is used to compare those schemes, whereas the second one consists of numerical simulations of real-size experiments performed on a road structure subjected to thermal and mechanical loadings. By comparing the numerical results with experimental ones, it allows us to test the finite element code on a more complex and realistic problem. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Ground response curves for rock masses exhibiting strain‐softening behaviour

A literature review has shown that there exist adequate techniques to obtain ground reaction curves for tunnels excavated in elastic‐brittle and perfectly plastic materials. However, for strain‐softening materials it seems that the problem has not been sufficiently analysed. In this paper, a one‐dimensional numerical solution to obtain the ground reaction curve (GRC) for circular tunnels excavated in strain‐softening materials is presented. The problem is formulated in a very general form and leads to a system of ordinary differential equations. By adequately defining a fictitious ‘time’ variable and re‐scaling some variables the problem is converted into an initial value one, which can be solved numerically by a Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg method, which is implemented in MATLAB environment. The method has been developed for various common particular behaviour models including Tresca, Mohr–Coulomb and Hoek–Brown failure criteria, in all cases with non‐associative flow rules and two‐segment piecewise linear functions related to a principal strain‐dependent plastic parameter to model the transition between peak and residual failure criteria. Some particular examples for the different failure criteria have been run, which agree well with closed‐form solutions—if existing—or with FDM‐based code results. Parametric studies and specific charts are created to highlight the influence of different parameters. The proposed methodology intends to be a wider and general numerical basis where standard and newly featured behaviour modes focusing on obtaining GRC for tunnels excavated in strain‐softening materials can be implemented. This way of solving such problems has proved to be more efficient and less time consuming than using FEM‐ or FDM‐based numerical 2D codes. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On finite volume method implementation of poro‐elasto‐plasticity soil model

Accurate prediction of the interactions between the nonlinear soil skeleton and the pore fluid under loading plays a vital role in many geotechnical applications. It is therefore important to develop a numerical method that can effectively capture this nonlinear soil‐pore fluid coupling effect. This paper presents the implementation of a new finite volume method code of poro‐elasto‐plasticity soil model. The model is formulated on the basis of Biot's consolidation theory and combined with a perfect plasticity Mohr‐Coulomb constitutive relation. The governing equation system is discretized in a segregated manner, namely, those conventional linear and uncoupled terms are treated implicitly, while those nonlinear and coupled terms are treated explicitly by using any available values from previous time or iteration step. The implicit–explicit discretization leads to a linearized and decoupled algebraic system, which is solved using the fixed‐point iteration method. Upon the convergence of the iterative method, fully nonlinear coupled solutions are obtained. Also explored in this paper is the special way of treating traction boundary in finite volume method compared with FEM. Finally, three numerical test cases are simulated to verify the implementation procedure. It is shown in the simulation results that the implemented solver is capable of and efficient at predicting reasonable soil responses with pore pressure coupling under different loading situations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A finite element method for modeling coupled flow and deformation in porous fractured media

Modeling the flow in highly fractured porous media by finite element method (FEM) has met two difficulties: mesh generation for fractured domains and a rigorous formulation of the flow problem accounting for fracture/matrix, fracture/fracture, and fracture/boundary fluid mass exchanges. Based on the recent theoretical progress for mass balance conditions in multifractured porous bodies, the governing equations for coupled flow and deformation in these bodies are first established in this paper. A weak formulation for this problem is then established allowing to build a FEM. Taking benefit from recent development of mesh‐generating tools for fractured media, this weak formulation has been implemented in a numerical code and applied to some typical problems of hydromechanical coupling in fractured porous media. It is shown that in this way, the FEM that has proved its efficiency to model hydromechanical phenomena in porous media is extended with all its performances (calculation time, couplings, and nonlinearities) to fractured porous media. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical performance of projection methods in finite element consolidation models

Projection, or conjugate gradient like, methods are becoming increasingly popular for the efficient solution of large sparse sets of unsymmetric indefinite equations arising from the numerical integration of (initial) boundary value problems. One such problem is soil consolidation coupling a flow and a structural model, typically solved by finite elements (FE) in space and a marching scheme in time (e.g. the Crank–Nicolson scheme). The attraction of a projection method stems from a number of factors, including the ease of implementation, the requirement of limited core memory and the low computational cost if a cheap and effective matrix preconditioner is available. In the present paper, biconjugate gradient stabilized (Bi‐ CGSTAB) is used to solve FE consolidation equations in 2‐D and 3‐D settings with variable time integration steps. Three different nodal orderings are selected along with the preconditioner ILUT based on incomplete triangular factorization and variable fill‐in. The overall cost of the solver is made up of the preconditioning cost plus the cost to converge which is in turn related to the number of iterations and the elementary operations required by each iteration. The results show that nodal ordering affects the perfor mance of Bi‐CGSTAB. For normally conditioned consolidation problems Bi‐CGSTAB with the best ILUT preconditioner may converge in a number of iterations up to two order of magnitude smaller than the size of the FE model and proves an accurate, cost‐effective and robust alternative to direct methods. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于建筑信息模型技术的盾构隧道结构信息模型建模方法

为解决隧道工程建设各阶段之间的信息交流和数据共享困难的问题,前期在工业基础类（industry foundation classes,简称IFC）标准的基础上实现了盾构隧道建模数据模型。在此基础上,提出基于建筑信息模型（building information modeling,简称BIM）技术的盾构隧道结构信息模型建模方法。根据扩展的盾构隧道结构信息模型的IFC表达,提出了单个管片块建模方法和隧道线路解算流程和步骤。在此基础上,进行盾构管片拼装与隧道建模,建立了盾构隧道建模流程和参数化建模方法,形成了基于BIM技术的盾构隧道结构信息模型建模方法。最后,通过实例验证了建模方法的可行性。工程应用表明,通过借鉴和引入BIM技术,建立基于统一IFC数据标准的盾构隧道结构信息模型,可以实现盾构隧道信息的无损交换与充分共享,从而进一步验证了前期提出的基于IFC的盾构隧道建模数据模型的正确性。研究成果可为隧道数值计算分析提供初始模型,为实现隧道三维可视化模型和分析计算模型的无缝对接提供基础。     

A fully implicit and consistent finite element framework for modeling reservoir compaction with large deformation and nonlinear flow model. Part II: verification and numerical example

A fully implicit, fully coupled, and fully consistent finite element framework has been formulated in part I of this work for modeling reservoir compaction through linearizing coupled solid and flow field equations and constructing a local material integrator. In part II of this work, we focus on verification and performance analysis of our numerical formulation and computer implementation using several numerical examples. First, we design a cube problem in triaxial compression to verify our numerical formulation and computer code implementation especially for rock formation in compaction using cap plasticity models. The finite element prediction on stresses is compared with the analytical solution. The second problem we select is a strip footing problem popular in the geotechnical area where the evolution of soil consolidation degrees following the diffusion of pore pressure is the main interest. In this example, we demonstrate a good performance of the proposed numerical formulation on solving different shear and compaction-dominated deformation behaviors by varying the footing length. Importantly, an extremely sharp cap model based on real experimental data for Leda clays, a challenging cap model, is successfully applied in this footing problem. Our focus in this work is to model field reservoirs undergoing serious compaction. A reservoir with complex payzone geometries, multiple horizontal wells, and cap plasticity models with sharp cap surfaces has been successfully solved using our fully implicit formulation. The last example is to model a horizontal wellbore damage problem. Finally, the sensitivity of predicted subsidence to nonlinear flow model, cap hardening parameters, and Lode angles have been systemically investigated and documented in detail, which can provide a constructive guidance on how to successfully model field reservoir compaction problems with cap plasticity models.     

A stabilized assumed deformation gradient finite element formulation for strongly coupled poromechanical simulations at finite strain

An adaptively stabilized finite element scheme is proposed for a strongly coupled hydro‐mechanical problem in fluid‐infiltrating porous solids at finite strain. We first present the derivation of the poromechanics model via mixture theory in large deformation. By exploiting assumed deformation gradient techniques, we develop a numerical procedure capable of simultaneously curing the multiple‐locking phenomena related to shear failure, incompressibility imposed by pore fluid, and/or incompressible solid skeleton and produce solutions that satisfy the inf‐sup condition. The template‐based generic programming and automatic differentiation (AD) techniques used to implement the stabilized model are also highlighted. Finally, numerical examples are given to show the versatility and efficiency of this model. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implicit integration of a mixed isotropic–kinematic hardening plasticity model for structured clays

In recent years, a number of constitutive models have been proposed to describe mathematically the mechanical response of natural clays. Some of these models are characterized by complex formulations, often leading to non‐trivial problems in their numerical integration in finite elements codes. The paper describes a fully implicit stress‐point algorithm for the numerical integration of a single‐surface mixed isotropic–kinematic hardening plasticity model for structured clays. The formulation of the model stems from a compromise between its capability of reproducing the larger number of features characterizing the behaviour of structured clays and the possibility of developing a robust integration algorithm for its implementation in a finite elements code. The model is characterized by an ellipsoid‐shaped yield function, inside which a stress‐dependent reversible stiffness is accounted for by a non‐linear hyperelastic formulation. The isotropic part of the hardening law extends the standard Cam‐Clay one to include plastic strain‐driven softening due to bond degradation, while the kinematic hardening part controls the evolution of the position of the yield surface in the stress space. The proposed algorithm allows the consistent linearization of the constitutive equations guaranteeing the quadratic rate of asymptotic convergence in the global‐level Newton–Raphson iterative procedure. The accuracy and the convergence properties of the proposed algorithm are evaluated with reference to the numerical simulations of single element tests and the analysis of a typical geotechnical boundary value problem. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于ABAQUS的颗粒材料亚塑性模型的数值实现及探讨

颗粒材料的亚塑性模型以Jaumann应力率张量及变形率张量描述本构关系,基于Cauchy应力的Jaumann速率及变形率给出了有限元的切线刚度矩阵,由此指出在严格意义上基于ABAQUS二次开发的亚塑性模型数值实现必需借助UEL接口。为了简化程序开发,文中建议了与有限元相结合的两种近似切线模量矩阵,即基于矩阵广义逆一致性切向模量矩阵与近似切向模量矩阵,从而形成了通过UMAT接口实现亚塑性模型的数值方案。由此降低了程序开发的难度,同时也可借助ABAQUS的后处理功能,提高了工作效率。数值算例表明了所开发程序的正确性以及所建议方案的可行性。     

Numerical simulation of bolt‐supported tunnels by means of a multiphase model conceived as an improved homogenization procedure

This paper examines the possibility of applying a homogenization procedure to analyze the convergence of a tunnel reinforced by bolts, regarded as periodically distributed linear inclusions. Owing to the fact that a classical homogenization method fails to account for the interactions prevailing between the bolts and the surrounding ground and thus tends to significantly overestimate the reinforcement effect in terms of convergence reduction, a so‐called multiphase model is presented and developed, aimed at improving the classical homogenization method. Indeed, according to this model, the bolt‐reinforced ground is represented at the macroscopic scale as the superposition of two mutually interacting continuous phases, describing the ground and the reinforcement network, respectively. It is shown that such a multiphase approach can be interpreted as an extension of the homogenization procedure, thus making it possible to capture the ground–reinforcement interaction in a proper way, provided the constitutive parameters of the model and notably those relating to the interaction law can be identified from the reinforced ground characteristics. The numerical implementation of this model in a finite element method‐based computer code is then carried out, and a first illustrative application is finally presented. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Upper bound limit analysis using simplex strain elements and second‐order cone programming

In geomechanics, limit analysis provides a useful method for assessing the capacity of structures such as footings and retaining walls, and the stability of slopes and excavations. This paper presents a finite element implementation of the kinematic (or upper bound) theorem that is novel in two main respects. First, it is shown that conventional linear strain elements (6‐node triangle, 10‐node tetrahedron) are suitable for obtaining strict upper bounds even in the case of cohesive‐frictional materials, provided that the element sides are straight (or the faces planar) such that the strain field varies as a simplex. This is important because until now, the only way to obtain rigorous upper bounds has been to use constant strain elements combined with a discontinuous displacement field. It is well known (and confirmed here) that the accuracy of the latter approach is highly dependent on the alignment of the discontinuities, such that it can perform poorly if an unstructured mesh is employed. Second, the optimization of the displacement field is formulated as a standard second‐order cone programming (SOCP) problem. Using a state‐of‐the‐art SOCP code developed by researchers in mathematical programming, very large example problems are solved with outstanding speed. The examples concern plane strain and the Mohr–Coulomb criterion, but the same approach can be used in 3D with the Drucker–Prager criterion, and can readily be extended to other yield criteria having a similar conic quadratic form. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A numerical study of particle motion and two‐phase interaction in aeolian sand transport using a coupled large eddy simulation – discrete element method

Wind‐blown sand movement, considered as a particle‐laden two‐phase flow, was simulated by a new numerical code developed in the present study. The discrete element method was employed to model the contact force between sand particles. Large eddy simulation was used to solve the turbulent atmospheric boundary layer. Motions of sand particles were traced in the Lagrangian frame. Within the near‐surface region of the atmospheric boundary layer, interparticle collisions will significantly alter the velocity of sand. The sand phase is quite dense in this region, and its feedback force on fluid motion cannot be ignored. By considering the interparticle collision and two‐phase interaction, four‐way coupling was achieved in the numerical code. Profiles of sand velocity from the simulations were in good agreement with experimental measurements. The mass flux shows an exponential decay and is comparable to reported experimental and field measurements. The turbulence intensities and shear stress of sand particles were estimated from particle root‐mean‐square velocities. Distributions of slip velocity and feedback force were analysed to reveal the interactions between sand particles and the continuous fluid phase.     

A parallel global-implicit 2-D solver for reactive transport problems in porous media based on a reduction scheme and its application to the MoMaS benchmark problem

In this article, an approach for the efficient numerical solution of multi-species reactive transport problems in porous media is described. The objective of this approach is to reformulate the given system of partial and ordinary differential equations (PDEs, ODEs) and algebraic equations (AEs), describing local equilibrium, in such a way that the couplings and nonlinearities are concentrated in a rather small number of equations, leading to the decoupling of some linear partial differential equations from the nonlinear system. Thus, the system is handled in the spirit of a global implicit approach (one step method) avoiding operator splitting techniques, solved by Newton’s method as the basic algorithmic ingredient. The reduction of the problem size helps to limit the large computational costs of numerical simulations of such problems. If the model contains equilibrium precipitation-dissolution reactions of minerals, then these are considered as complementarity conditions and rewritten as semismooth equations, and the whole nonlinear system is solved by the semismooth Newton method.     

Efficient conditional modeling for geotechnical uncertainty evaluation

A first‐order Taylor series method including direct derivative coding (DDC) is presented as a computationally efficient method for producing the probability distribution associated with calculated geotechnical performance. The probability distribution is employed in reliability analyses to calculate the probability of failure, valuable information that is not typically associated with deterministic analyses. The probability distribution also is used to identify important input parameters and to direct sampling efforts. Another approach to generate the probability distribution is the Monte Carlo (MC) method, however, Taylor series results generally are calculated in less time than the MC approach. One key to the implementation of the Taylor series approach is efficient approximation of the sensitivities required by the Taylor series calculation. DDC provides the technique to produce an efficient Taylor series algorithm. Directly coding the sensitivity analysis into the engineering model is accomplished by automatic and hand programming of derivatives. ADIFOR 2.0 was employed to automatically add derivatives to an existing engineering analysis model. For this paper a meshing program and 3D FEM for soil deformation is used to demonstrate the DDC approach. Although DDC requires a large up‐front programming effort, it is not site or data specific. Therefore, once the derivative programming has been performed, the numerical model can be applied to a wide variety of problems without additional user intervention. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Water Curtain System Pre-design for Crude Oil Storage URCs: A Numerical Modeling and Genetic Programming Approach

In this paper the main criteria of the water curtain system for unlined rock caverns (URCs) is described. By the application of numerical modeling and genetic programming (GP), a method for water curtain system pre-design for Iranian crude oil storage URCs (common dimension worldwide) is presented. A comprehensive set of numerical simulations is performed using the finite element based commercial software (COMSOL 5.1) where the results are used as database for genetic programming. Describing equations of water inflow to the filled and empty caverns and water production rate of water curtain boreholes are generated using GP. By equating the proposed equations to each other, water curtain system can be pre-designed. Relative error of the generated GP equations shows their ability and accuracy. Applying a standard regression coefficient method, sensitivity analysis of parameters related to water curtain performance and water inflow to the caverns is performed as well. The results help the design of the water curtain system for crude oil storage caverns worldwide.     

Vertical equilibrium with sub-scale analytical methods for geological CO2 sequestration

Large-scale implementation of geological CO₂ sequestration requires quantification of risk and leakage potential. One potentially important leakage pathway for the injected CO₂ involves existing oil and gas wells. Wells are particularly important in North America, where more than a century of drilling has created millions of oil and gas wells. Models of CO₂ injection and leakage will involve large uncertainties in parameters associated with wells, and therefore a probabilistic framework is required. These models must be able to capture both the large-scale CO₂ plume associated with the injection and the small-scale leakage problem associated with localized flow along wells. Within a typical simulation domain, many hundreds of wells may exist. One effective modeling strategy combines both numerical and analytical models with a specific set of simplifying assumptions to produce an efficient numerical–analytical hybrid model. The model solves a set of governing equations derived by vertical averaging with assumptions of a macroscopic sharp interface and vertical equilibrium. These equations are solved numerically on a relatively coarse grid, with an analytical model embedded to solve for wellbore flow occurring at the sub-gridblock scale. This vertical equilibrium with sub-scale analytical method (VESA) combines the flexibility of a numerical method, allowing for heterogeneous and geologically complex systems, with the efficiency and accuracy of an analytical method, thereby eliminating expensive grid refinement for sub-scale features. Through a series of benchmark problems, we show that VESA compares well with traditional numerical simulations and to a semi-analytical model which applies to appropriately simple systems. We believe that the VESA model provides the necessary accuracy and efficiency for applications of risk analysis in many CO₂ sequestration problems.     

Rigid cylinder in a transversely isotropic half‐space under lateral loads

A boundary integral equation method is presented for a rigid cylindrical pipe‐pile of finite length embedded in a transversely isotropic half‐space under lateral loads. In the framework of three‐dimensional elastostatics, the complicated soil‐structure interaction problem is shown to be reducible to three coupled Fredholm integral equations. Through an analysis of the associated Cauchy singular kernels, the intrinsic singular characteristics of the radial, angular, and vertical interfacial load transfers are rendered explicit. By means of a complicated numerical procedure, detailed results on the three‐dimensional load–transfer process are provided for benchmark comparison and practical applications. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A smoothed cap model for variably saturated soils and its robust numerical implementation

This paper deals with the numerical implementation of a cap model for unsaturated soils. It provides a brief review of existing cap model approaches, based on which an improved model formulated in terms of generalised effective stress and matric suction is derived and described in detail. Although the proposed model is a multisurface plasticity model, it can efficiently be implemented using only single‐surface projections because of the smoothness of the model, which is obtained by construction. Numerical algorithms are provided for these single‐surface stress projections, using a single‐equation approach whenever possible. The robustness of the utilised single‐equation approaches is enhanced by proposing problem‐fitted start‐up procedures based on investigations of the nonlinear projection equations. A comparison of the model response with extensive material test data is used to validate the model and to demonstrate the robust application of the approach to silty sands and low to medium plasticity clays. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.