Evaluation of shallow foundation settlements by an elasto-plastic kinematic-isotropic hardening numerical model for granular soil

Abstract

A numerical model based on a recent non-associative elasto-plastic model for sands (the Severn–Trent model), implemented in an FEM code, is presented. This model, which simultaneously takes into account the effects of the relative density D _R and the mean effective stress level p reproduces the stress–strain behaviour of granular materials with reasonable accuracy. The constitutive relations are arranged in the form of a forward stress integration algorithm in a new subroutine. The algorithm is validated by comparison with the experimental results of several triaxial tests; the computed and experimental results are generally in good agreement for both loose and dense sands. Finally, the settlement of full-scale shallow foundations resting on a sand deposit is analysed; the numerical results obtained are very close to the experimental data.

Keywords:

• sand
• constitutive modelling
• FEM implementation
• triaxial tests
• shallow foundation settlements

Acknowledgement

The authors wish to thank Dr Paola Capilleri for her contribution to the experimental work.