Material Point Method for Cone Penetration in Clays
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 12
Abstract
This study presents a coupled material point method (MPM) formulation for the analysis of cone penetration in clays. The formulation is based on the generalized interpolation material point method (GIMP) variant of MPM. A single material point is used to represent both the soil matrix and water. The governing equations are solved using an explicit scheme with the velocity of the soil matrix and the velocity of water as the primary variables. Incompressibility constraints in the soil matrix are resolved using the nonlinear B-bar method, and pore pressures are computed at element centers. The formulation is validated through problems for which analytical or numerical solutions are available. Cone penetration resistances measured at a Boston Blue Clay (BBC) test site are then computed using the coupled MPM formulation with the constitutive response of BBC captured using an advanced bounding surface model based on critical state soil mechanics. Based on the cone penetration simulation, the penetration resistances under undrained, partially drained, and drained conditions are computed by varying the hydraulic conductivity of the clay. The cone factor for undrained penetration is also calculated. Verification and validation exercises demonstrate the efficacy and robustness of the adopted formulation in the realistic simulation of cone penetration in clay.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 147 • Issue 12 • December 2021
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Dec 20, 2020
Accepted: Jul 28, 2021
Published online: Sep 29, 2021
Published in print: Dec 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Feb 28, 2022
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