Abstract
Cone penetrometer testing (CPT) is a frequently used soil characterization technique for liquefaction assessment; however, this technique has shortcomings in accurately characterizing very thin soil layers having thicknesses less than two to three times the diameter of the cone. In this study, the material point method (MPM) is used to generate numerical “measured” (or “blurred”) CPT tip resistance () in complex soil profiles. Results show that MPM is capable of accurately simulating in soil profiles with layers as thin as 20 mm, even when using basic constitutive models and simplified drainage conditions. It is further shown that MPM simulations are able to replicate the tendency of the CPT to smear the boundaries between very thin, interbedded soil layers in a way that obscures their true thickness and stiffness (typically referred to as thin-layer, transition-zone, or multiple thin-layer effects). While previous numerical studies of CPT have been performed in profiles composed of two or three layers, this study considers highly interlayered profiles with upwards of 27 soil layers. Difficulties of developing and implementing multiple thin-layer corrections are presented. It is shown that a numerical framework like MPM can generate a larger set of data for the development and validation of multiple thin-layer correction procedures with the aim of improving liquefaction severity predictions in complex soil profiles.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
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.
Acknowledgments
This research was partially funded by National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant Nos. CMMI-1825189 and CMMI-1937984. This support is gratefully acknowledged. Additionally, we thank Julian Bommer, Imperial College London, and Jan van Elk, NAM, as well as all the individuals from NAM, Shell, and Deltares for the discussions that both prompted and informed our efforts to investigate thin layer effects. However, any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF, or the others acknowledged.
References
Ahmadi, M. M., P. M. Bryne, and R. G. Campanella. 2005. “Cone tip resistance in sand: Modeling, verification, and applications.” Can. Geotech. J. 42 (4): 977–993. https://doi.org/10.1139/t05-030.
Ahmadi, M. M., and P. K. Robertson. 2005. “Thin-layer effects on the CPT measurement.” Can. Geotech. J. 42 (5): 1302–1317. https://doi.org/10.1139/t05-036.
Al-Kafaji, I. K. J. 2013. “Formulation of a dynamic material point method (MPM) for geomechanical problems.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Stuttgart.
Anura3D. 2021. “Anura3D MPM research community.” Accessed November 18, 2021. http://www.anura3d.com/.
Bardenhagen, S. G., J. E. Guilkey, K. M. Roessig, J. U. Brackbill, W. M. Witzel, and J. C. Foster. 2001. “An improved contact algorithm for the material point method and application to stress propagation in granular material.” Comput. Modell. Eng. Sci. 2 (4): 509–522.
Beuth, L. 2012. “Formulation and application of a quasi-static material point method.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Stuttgart.
Beuth, L., and P. Vermeer. 2013. “Installation effects in geotechnical engineering.” In Large deformation analysis of cone penetration testing in undrained clay. London: Taylor & Francis Group.
Beyzaei, C. Z., J. D. Bray, M. Cubrinovski, M. Riemer, M. E. Stringer, M. Jacka, and F. J. Wentz. 2015. “Liquefaction resistance of silty soils at the Riccarton Road site, Christchurch, New Zealand.” In Proc., 6th Int. Conf. on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering. London: International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.
Beyzaei, C. Z., J. D. Bray, S. van Ballegooy, M. Cubrinovski, and S. Bastin. 2018. “Depositional environment effects on observed liquefaction performance in silt swamps during the Canterbury earthquake sequence.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 107 (Apr): 303–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2018.01.035.
Bisht, V., R. Salgado, and M. Prezzi. 2021. “Analysis of cone penetration using the material point method.” In Challenges and innovations in geomechanics, 765–771. Berlin: Springer.
Borup, M., and J. Hedegaard. 1995. Baskarp Sand No. 15: Data report 9403. Aalborg, Denmark: Geotechnical Engineering Group.
Boulanger, R., and J. DeJong. 2018. “Inverse filtering procedure to correct cone penetration data for thin-layer and transition effects.” In Proc., Cone Penetration Testing 2018, 25–44. Delft, Netherlands: CRC Press.
Boulanger, R. W., and I. M. Idriss. 2016. “CPT-based liquefaction triggering procedure.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 142 (2): 04015065. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001388.
Boulanger, R. W., D. M. Moug, S. K. Munter, A. B. Price, and J. T. Dejong. 2016. “Evaluating liquefaction and lateral spreading in interbedded sand, silt, and clay deposits using the cone penetrometer.” In Proc., 5th Int. Conf. on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterisation (ISC’5), 81–97. London: International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.
Ceccato, F., L. Beuth, and P. Simonini. 2015. “Study of the effect of drainage conditions on cone penetration with the material point method.” In Proc., 15 Pan-American Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. Amsterdam, Netherlands: IOS Press.
Ceccato, F., L. Beuth, and P. Simonini. 2016a. “Analysis of Piezocone penetration under different drainage conditions with the two-phase material point method.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 142 (12): 04016066. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001550.
Ceccato, F., L. Beuth, and P. Simonini. 2017. “Adhesive contact algorithm for MPM and its application to the simulation of cone penetration in clay.” Procedia Eng. 175 (Jan): 182–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.01.004.
Ceccato, F., L. Beuth, P. A. Vermeer, and P. Simonini. 2016b. “Two-phase material point method applied to the study of cone penetration.” Comput. Geotech. 80 (Dec): 440–452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2016.03.003.
Ceccato, F., and P. Simonini. 2019. “Numerical features used in simulations.” In The material point method for geotechnical engineering, 101–124. London: CRC Press.
Cooper, J., E. Martin, K. Yost, A. Yerro-Colom, and R. Green. 2021. “Robust identification and characterization of thin soil layers in cone penetration data by piecewise layer optimization.” Comput. Geotech. 141 (Jan): 104404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2021.104404.
Cox, B. R., K. A. McLaughlin, S. Van Ballegooy, M. Cubrinovski, R. Boulanger, and L. Wotherspoon. 2017. “In-situ investigation of false-positive liquefaction sites in Christchurch, New Zealand: St. Teresa’s School Case History.” In Proc., Performance-based Design in Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering (PBD-III). London: International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.
Cubrinovski, M., A. Rhodes, N. Ntritsos, and S. Van Ballegooy. 2019. “System response of liquefiable deposits.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 124 (Sep): 212–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2018.05.013.
de Greef, J., and H. J. Lengkeek. 2018. “Transition-and thin layer corrections for CPT based liquefaction analysis.” In Proc., Cone Penetration Testing 2018, 317–322. Delft, Netherlands: CRC Press.
de Lange, D. 2018. “CPT in thinly layered soils.” In Validation tests and analysis for multi thin layer correction. Delft, Netherlands: Deltares.
de Lange, D. A., J. Terwindt, and T. I. van der Linden. 2018. “CPT in thinly inter-layered soils.” In Proc., Cone Penetration Testing 2018, 383–388. Delft, Netherlands: CRC Press.
Durgunoglu, H. T., and J. Mitchell. 1973. Static penetration resistance of soils technical report. Berkeley, CA: Space Sciences Laboratory.
Fern, J., A. Rohe, K. Soga, and E. Alonso. 2019. The material point method for geotechnical engineering: A practical guide. London: CRC Press.
Galavi, V., F. Tehrani, M. Martinelli, A. Elkadi, and D. Luger. 2018. “Axisymmetric formulation of the material point method for geotechnical engineering applications.” In Proc., 9th Conf. on Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Green, R. A., J. J. Bommer, A. Rodriguez-Marek, B. W. Maurer, P. J. Stafford, B. Edwards, P. P. Kruiver, G. de Lange, and J. van Elk. 2019. “Addressing limitations in existing ‘simplified’ liquefaction triggering evaluation procedures: Application to induced seismicity in the Groningen gas field.” Bull. Earthquake Eng. 17 (8): 4539–4557. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-018-0489-3.
Green, R. A., M. Cubrinovski, B. Cox, C. Wood, L. Wotherspoon, B. Bradley, and B. Maurer. 2014. “Select liquefaction case histories from the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence.” Earthquake Spectra 30 (1): 131–153. https://doi.org/10.1193/030713EQS066M.
Hird, C. C., P. Johnson, and G. C. Sills. 2003. “Performance of miniature Piezocones in thinly layered soils.” Géotechnique 53 (10): 885–900. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2003.53.10.885.
Hryciw, R. D., E. Susila, and S. Shin. 2005. “CPT readings, VisCPT observations, and advanced FEM modeling of penetration through soil interfaces.” In GSP 138: Site characterization and modeling, 1–12. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Ibsen, L. B., and L. B. Bødker. 1994. Baskarp Sand No. 15: Data report 9301. Aalborg, Denmark: Geotechnical Engineering Group.
Idriss, I., and R. Boulanger. 2008. Soil liquefaction during earthquakes. Oakland, CA: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.
Lu, Q., M. F. Randolph, Y. Hu, and I. C. Bugarski. 2004. “A numerical study of cone penetration in clay.” Géotechnique 54 (4): 257–267. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2004.54.4.257.
Martinelli, M., and V. Galavi. 2021. “Investigation of the material point method in the simulation of cone penetration tests in dry sand.” Comput. Geotech. 130 (Feb): 103923. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2020.103923.
McLaughlin, K. A. 2017. “Investigation of false-positive liquefaction case histories in Christchurch, New Zealand.” MS thesis, Dept. of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Texas at Austin.
Mlynarek, Z., S. Gogolik, and J. Poltorak. 2012. “The effect of varied stiffness of soil layers on interpretation of CPTU penetration characteristics.” Arch. Civ. Mech. Eng. 12 (2): 253–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acme.2012.03.013.
Mo, P. Q., A. M. Marshall, and H. S. Yu. 2014. “Cavity expansion analysis for interpretation of CPT data in layered soils.” In Proc., 3rd Int. Symp. on Cone Penetration Testing (CPT’14). San Francisco: Scribd.
Mo, P. Q., A. M. Marshall, and H. S. Yu. 2015. “Centrifuge modelling of cone penetration tests in layered soils.” Géotechnique 65 (6): 468–481. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.14.P.176.
Mo, P.-Q., A. M. Marshall, and H.-S. Yu. 2017. “Interpretation of cone penetration test data in layered soils using cavity expansion analysis.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 143 (1): 04016084. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001577.
Moug, D. M., R. W. Boulanger, J. T. DeJong, and R. A. Jaeger. 2019. “Axisymmetric simulations of cone penetration in saturated clay.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 145 (4): 04019008. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002024.
Rots, J., P. Nauta, G. Kuster, and J. Blaauwendraad. 1985. “Smeared crack approach and fracture localization in concrete.” HERON 30 (1): 1985.
Salgado, R., and M. Prezzi. 2007. “Computation of cavity expansion pressure and penetration resistance in sands.” Int. J. Geomech. 7 (4): 251–265. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1532-3641(2007)7:4(251).
Sayed, S. M., and M. A. Hamed. 1987. “Expansion of cavities in layered elastic system.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 11 (2): 203–213. https://doi.org/10.1002/nag.1610110209.
Silva, M., and M. Bolton. 2004. “Centrifuge penetration tests in saturated layered sands.” In Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterization, 377–384. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Sulsky, D., Z. Chen, and H. L. Schreyer. 1994. “A particle method for history-dependent materials.” Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 118 (1–2): 179–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/0045-7825(94)90112-0.
Sulsky, D., and H. L. Schreyer. 1996. “Axisymmetric form of the material point method with applications to upsetting and Taylor impact problems.” Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 139 (1–4): 409–429. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0045-7825(96)01091-2.
Sulsky, D., S. J. Zhou, and H. L. Schreyer. 1995. “Application of a particle-in-cell method to solid mechanics.” Comput. Phys. Commun. 87 (1–2): 236–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-4655(94)00170-7.
Susila, E., and R. D. Hryciw. 2003. “Large displacement FEM modelling of the cone penetration test (CPT) in normally consolidated sand.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 27 (7): 585–602. https://doi.org/10.1002/nag.287.
Tehrani, F. S., and V. Galavi. 2018. “Comparison of cavity expansion and material point method for simulation of cone penetration in sand.” In Proc., Cone Penetration Testing 2018, 611–615. Delft, Netherlands: CRC Press.
Treadwell. 1976. “The influence of gravity, prestress, compressibility, and layering on soil resistance to static penetration.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of California at Berkeley.
van den Berg, P., R. de Borst, and H. Huétink. 1996. “An Eulerian finite element model for penetration in layered soil.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 20 (12): 865–886. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-9853(199612)20:12%3C865::AID-NAG854%3E3.0.CO;2-A.
Vreugdenhil, R., R. Davis, and J. Berrill. 1994. “Interpretation of cone penetration results in multilayered soils.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 18 (9): 585–599. https://doi.org/10.1002/nag.1610180902.
Walker, J., and H.-S. Yu. 2010. “Analysis of the cone penetration test in layered clay.” Géotechnique 60 (12): 939–948. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.7.00153.
Xu, X., and B. M. Lehane. 2008. “Pile and penetrometer end bearing resistance in two-layered soil profiles.” Géotechnique 58 (3): 187–197. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2008.58.3.187.
Yerro, A. 2015. “MPM modelling of landslides in brittle and unsaturated soils.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Geotechnical Engineering and Geo-Sciences, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya.
Yost, K. M., B. R. Cox, L. Wotherspoon, R. W. Boulanger, S. Van Ballegooy, and M. Cubrinovski. 2019. “In situ investigation of false-positive liquefaction sites in Christchurch, New Zealand: Palinurus road case history.” Geotech. Spec. Publ. 308 (Mar): 436–451. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784482100.044.
Yost, K. M., R. A. Green, S. Upadhyaya, B. W. Maurer, A. Yerro-Colom, E. R. Martin, and J. Cooper. 2021. “Assessment of the efficacies of correction procedures for multiple thin layer effects on cone penetration tests.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 144 (May): 106677. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2021.106677.
Youd, T. L., et al. 2001. “Liquefaction resistance of soils: Summary report from the 1996 NCEER and 1998 NCEER/NSF workshops on evaluation of liquefaction resistance of soils.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 127 (10): 817–833. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2001)127:4(297).
Yue, Z. Q., and J.-H. Yin. 1999. “Layered elastic model for analysis of cone penetration testing.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 23 (8): 829–843. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-9853(199907)23:8%3C829::AID-NAG16%3E3.0.CO;2-X.
Zambrano-Cruzatty, L., and A. Yerro. 2020. “Numerical simulation of a free fall penetrometer deployment using the material point method.” Soils Found. 60 (3): 668–682. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2020.04.002.
Zhou, S., J. Stormont, and Z. Chen. 1999. “Simulation of geomembrane response to settlement in landfills by using the material point method.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 23 (15): 1977–1994. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-9853(19991225)23:15%3C1977::AID-NAG45%3E3.0.CO;2-3.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 2 • February 2022
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 23, 2021
Accepted: Oct 7, 2021
Published online: Dec 15, 2021
Published in print: Feb 1, 2022
Discussion open until: May 15, 2022
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
Cited by
- Tian-Cheng Xie, Hong-Hu Zhu, Chun-Xin Zhang, Wei Liu, Dao-Yuan Tan, Wei Zhang, Modeling Pipe–Soil Interaction under Lateral Movement Using Material Point Method, Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice, 10.1061/JPSEA2.PSENG-1498, 15, 1, (2024).
- Jorge Macedo, Alba Yerro, Renzo Cornejo, Ian Pierce, Cadia TSF Failure Assessment Considering Triggering and Posttriggering Mechanisms, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 10.1061/JGGEFK.GTENG-11660, 150, 4, (2024).
- Sara Moshfeghi, Mahdi Taiebat, Arcesio Lizcano, Validating the Use of Material Point Method and SANISAND Model for Relating the State Parameter with Cone Tip Resistance, Geo-Congress 2024, 10.1061/9780784485347.018, (172-180), (2024).
- Veronica Girardi, Alba Yerro, Paolo Simonini, Fabio Gabrieli, Francesca Ceccato, Wetting induced instabilities in layered slopes: A Material Point Method analysis, Engineering Geology, 10.1016/j.enggeo.2022.106978, 313, (106978), (2023).
- L. Gao, N. Guo, Z.X. Yang, R.J. Jardine, MPM modeling of pile installation in sand: Contact improvement and quantitative analysis, Computers and Geotechnics, 10.1016/j.compgeo.2022.104943, 151, (104943), (2022).