Simulation of T-bar penetration in soft clay with adhesive contact

Abstract

To model the deep penetration process of T-bar in soft clay, an adhesive contact algorithm was developed in conjunction with the Coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian approach with consideration of the effect of strain softening. Numerical results show the simulated penetration resistance agrees well with the previous centrifuge experimental data. The failure mechanisms of the clay around the T-bar can be divided into three stages, including shallow penetration stage with global failure mechanism, partially and fully back-flow stages with local failure mechanism. Fluctuations of the penetration resistance can be explained by the formation and evolution of shear bands around the T-bar. Newly formed shear bands would intersect the previously formed shear bands in the partially back-flow stage, which results in the formation of “ear-shaped” areas rotating anticlockwise around the T-bar. The evolution of shear bands would form a similar fabric structure in the fully back-flow stage.