Coupled Large Deformation Finite Element Formulations for the Dynamics of Unsaturated Soil and Their Application
Unsaturated soil is a three-phase medium with three interfaces, and the mathematical equations that represent its behavior must be developed in a fully coupled manner for accurately predicting its hydromechanical behavior. In this paper, a set of fully coupled governing equations was developed for t...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Geosciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/12/9/320 |
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| author | Nadarajah Ravichandran Tharshikka Vickneswaran |
| author_facet | Nadarajah Ravichandran Tharshikka Vickneswaran |
| author_sort | Nadarajah Ravichandran |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Unsaturated soil is a three-phase medium with three interfaces, and the mathematical equations that represent its behavior must be developed in a fully coupled manner for accurately predicting its hydromechanical behavior. In this paper, a set of fully coupled governing equations was developed for the dynamics of unsaturated soil, considering the interaction among the bulk phases and interfaces. In addition to implementing the complete governing equations, a simplified formulation was developed for practical applications. The derivation of the finite element formulation considering all the terms in the partial differential equations resulted in a formulation called <i>complete formulation</i> and was solved for the first time in this paper. Another formulation called <i>reduced formulation</i> was derived by neglecting the relative accelerations and velocities of water and air in the governing equations. In addition, small and large deformation theories were developed and implemented for both formulations. To show the applicability of the proposed models, the dynamic behavior of an unsaturated soil embankment was simulated using both small and large deformation formulations by applying minor and severe earthquakes. The reduced formulation was found to be computationally efficient and numerically stable. The smaller displacements predicted by large deformation theories show that the results are consistent with the expected behavior. Large deformation theories are considered suitable when the geotechnical system undergoes large deformation and may lead to accurate prediction. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:55:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bc9617899cea40e8bdbfc539a9f385f6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3263 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:55:48Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-bc9617899cea40e8bdbfc539a9f385f62023-11-23T16:26:44ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632022-08-0112932010.3390/geosciences12090320Coupled Large Deformation Finite Element Formulations for the Dynamics of Unsaturated Soil and Their ApplicationNadarajah Ravichandran0Tharshikka Vickneswaran1Glenn Department of Civil Engineering, Clemson University, 202A Lowry Hall, Clemson, SC 29634, USACivil and Environmental Engineering, University of Louisville, 218 Eastern Pkwy, Louisville, KY 40208, USAUnsaturated soil is a three-phase medium with three interfaces, and the mathematical equations that represent its behavior must be developed in a fully coupled manner for accurately predicting its hydromechanical behavior. In this paper, a set of fully coupled governing equations was developed for the dynamics of unsaturated soil, considering the interaction among the bulk phases and interfaces. In addition to implementing the complete governing equations, a simplified formulation was developed for practical applications. The derivation of the finite element formulation considering all the terms in the partial differential equations resulted in a formulation called <i>complete formulation</i> and was solved for the first time in this paper. Another formulation called <i>reduced formulation</i> was derived by neglecting the relative accelerations and velocities of water and air in the governing equations. In addition, small and large deformation theories were developed and implemented for both formulations. To show the applicability of the proposed models, the dynamic behavior of an unsaturated soil embankment was simulated using both small and large deformation formulations by applying minor and severe earthquakes. The reduced formulation was found to be computationally efficient and numerically stable. The smaller displacements predicted by large deformation theories show that the results are consistent with the expected behavior. Large deformation theories are considered suitable when the geotechnical system undergoes large deformation and may lead to accurate prediction.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/12/9/320dynamics of unsaturated soilfully coupled analysislarge deformation analysisfinite element framework |
| spellingShingle | Nadarajah Ravichandran Tharshikka Vickneswaran Coupled Large Deformation Finite Element Formulations for the Dynamics of Unsaturated Soil and Their Application Geosciences dynamics of unsaturated soil fully coupled analysis large deformation analysis finite element framework |
| title | Coupled Large Deformation Finite Element Formulations for the Dynamics of Unsaturated Soil and Their Application |
| title_full | Coupled Large Deformation Finite Element Formulations for the Dynamics of Unsaturated Soil and Their Application |
| title_fullStr | Coupled Large Deformation Finite Element Formulations for the Dynamics of Unsaturated Soil and Their Application |
| title_full_unstemmed | Coupled Large Deformation Finite Element Formulations for the Dynamics of Unsaturated Soil and Their Application |
| title_short | Coupled Large Deformation Finite Element Formulations for the Dynamics of Unsaturated Soil and Their Application |
| title_sort | coupled large deformation finite element formulations for the dynamics of unsaturated soil and their application |
| topic | dynamics of unsaturated soil fully coupled analysis large deformation analysis finite element framework |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/12/9/320 |
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