Large displacement FEM modelling of the cone penetration test (CPT) in normally consolidated sand

Abstract

SUMMARYA new finite element model based on a large strain formulation has been developed to study cone penetration in normally consolidated sand. An auto-adaptive remeshing technique was utilized for handling the very large distortion of sand surrounding the cone tip. A frictional contact interface utilizing Mohr-Coulomb's theory was chosen to represent interactions between the surface of the cone and sand. To model the sand behaviour, the non-associated Drucker-Prager constitutive model was selected. ABAQUS, a commercial finite element software package, was used to implement the model. The explicit solution algorithm was chosen due to its effectiveness for complicated contact problems. Analysis results proved that the model successfully captured the cone penetration behavior in sand. In addition, a chart to predict internal friction angles based on cone tip resistance for different vertical effective stresses was provided. This paper also shows a typical distribution of sleeve resistance, tip resistance}penetration relationship, and typical contours of vertical, horizontal, and shear stresses in normally consolidated sand. Finally, a non-uniform resistance was found along the length of the friction sleeve.

Modelling the Cone Penetration Test in sand using Cavity Expansion and Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian Finite Element Methods

“…Susila and Hryciw (2003), Huang et al (2004) and Liyanapathirina (2009) considered the use of large-strain FEM analysis to examine cone penetration in normally consolidated soils. Contact elements were used at the soil-pile interface to allow penetration to large depths to be achieved, and to investigate the effect of soil properties such as φ on the q c value.…”

An ALE method for penetration into sand utilizing optimization-based mesh motion

“…Examples include [7,8,9,10,11,12], but the employed methods reveal two limitations when applied to penetration into sand. First, common algorithms for node relocation are not qualified to smooth the non-convex mesh regions that inevitably occur during penetration of blunt bodies.…”

Effect of Soil Moisture, Soil Density, and Cone Penetrometer Material on Finite Element Prediction of Soil Hardpan Depth

“…As the cone advances into the soil, it is generally assumed that the cone penetration force estimates the relative soil strength at a particular depth. Researchers have shown that the point cone penetration force is influenced by the soil properties in the zone of influence (Gill, 1968;Sanglerat, 1972;Mulqueen et al, 1977;Lunne et al, 1997;and Susila and Hryciw, 2003). According to Lunne et al (1997), the zone of influence depends on layering and soil material stiffness that it can reach up to 10 to 20 times the cone diameter for stiff soil material.…”