Soil cracking modelling using the mesh-free SPH method

Ha Hong Bui, Giang D Nguyen, Jayantha Kumarasiri Kodikara, Marcelo Sanchez

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference PaperResearchpeer-review

Abstract

The presence of desiccation cracks in soils can significantly alter their mechanical and hydrological properties. In many circumstances, desiccation cracking in soils can cause significant damage to earthen or soil supported structures. For example, desiccation cracks can act as the preference path way for water flow, which can facilitate seepage flow causing internal erosion inside earth structures. Desiccation cracks can also trigger slope failures and landslides. Therefore, developing a computational procedure to predict desiccation cracking behaviour in soils is vital for dealing with key issues relevant to a range of applications in geotechnical and geo-environment engineering. In this paper, the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method will be extended for the first time to simulate shrinkage-induced soil cracking. The main objective of this work is to examine the performance of the proposed numerical approach in simulating the strong discontinuity in material behaviour and to learn about the crack formation in soils, looking at the effects of soil thickness on the cracking patterns. Results show that the SPH is a promising numerical approach for simulating crack formation in soils
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationANZ 2015: 12th Australia New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics: Proceedings
EditorsLucy McChesney
Place of PublicationLondon UK
PublisherInternational Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE)
Pages122 - 129
Number of pages8
Publication statusPublished - 2015
EventAustralia New Zealand Geomechanics Conference 2015 - Wellington, New Zealand
Duration: 22 Feb 201525 Feb 2015
Conference number: 12th

Conference

ConferenceAustralia New Zealand Geomechanics Conference 2015
Abbreviated titleANZ 2015
Country/TerritoryNew Zealand
CityWellington
Period22/02/1525/02/15
Other12th Australia New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics (ANZ 2015)
Start date: 2015-02-22
End date: 2015-02-25
Venue:
City: Wellington
State:
Country: New Zealand
Organizer: New Zealand Geotechnical Society and the Australian Geomechanics Society
Language:
Website: http://www.anz2015.com/

Keywords

  • desiccation cracks
  • soil cracking
  • 3D modelling
  • elastic-fracture
  • crack pattern
  • SPH

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