Application of the particle finite element method for large deformation consolidation analysis
ISSN: 0264-4401
Article publication date: 5 August 2019
Issue publication date: 19 November 2019
Abstract
Purpose
Large deformation problems are frequently encountered in various fields of geotechnical engineering. The particle finite element method (PFEM) has been proven to be a promising method to solve large deformation problems. This study aims to develop a computational framework for modelling the hydro-mechanical coupled porous media at large deformation based on the PFEM.
Design/methodology/approach
The PFEM is extended by adopting the linear and quadratic triangular elements for pore water pressure and displacements. A six-node triangular element is used for modelling two-dimensional problems instead of the low-order three-node triangular element. Thus, the numerical instability induced by volumetric locking is avoided. The Modified Cam Clay (MCC) model is used to describe the elasto-plastic soil behaviour.
Findings
The proposed approach is used for analysing several consolidation problems. The numerical results have demonstrated that large deformation consolidation problems with the proposed approach can be accomplished without numerical difficulties and loss of accuracy. The coupled PFEM provides a stable and robust numerical tool in solving large deformation consolidation problems. It is demonstrated that the proposed approach is intrinsically stable.
Originality/value
The PFEM is extended to consider large deformation-coupled hydro-mechanical problem. PFEM is enhanced by using a six-node quadratic triangular element for displacement and this is coupled with a four-node quadrilateral element for modelling excess pore pressure.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The research is supported by the National key technologies Research & Development program (Grant No. 2017 YFC1502603); the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant No. 41807223); the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 2018B02414); the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (Nos. 2018A030310346, 20181513); as well as the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant No. 51209237).
Citation
Yuan, W.-H., Zhang, W., Dai, B. and Wang, Y. (2019), "Application of the particle finite element method for large deformation consolidation analysis", Engineering Computations, Vol. 36 No. 9, pp. 3138-3163. https://doi.org/10.1108/EC-09-2018-0407
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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