| Abstract: | The Strain Path Method (SPM) is an approximate framework for simulating the disturbance caused by piles or penetrometers in soil. The key conceptual assumption of the SPM is that the deformation and strain fields caused during these penetration processes are strongly kinematically constrained (especially during undrained penetration of clays) and can be estimated independently from the actual constitutive properties of the surrounding soil. Previous applications of SPM have estimated strain fields for a variety of penetrometer geometries using velocity fields of ideal inviscid fluids. This paper refines the strain field for penetrometers with 60° conical tips using numerically computed velocity fields in viscous fluids with a variety of boundary conditions imposed on the penetrometer shaft. Following a parametric study, a set of flow conditions is selected which provides a best fit between computed soil deformations and physical displacement measurements made in three separate experiments. The approach is simple and rapid and, while highlighting some of the inaccuracies associated with the existing SPM solution, may also be used for comparative purposes to assist the development of other approaches to the deep penetration problem. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
