Numerical simulations in geotechnics based on a multiphase FE approach

Publisher Summary This chapter deals with the development and application of a coupled multiphase model suitable for the description of a broad range of problems encountered in the realm of geotechnics. The coupled model is characterized by considering the soil as a three-phase medium, consisting of a deformable soil skeleton and the fluid phases water and (compressed) air. The full three-phase model is applicable to the numerical simulation of pneumatic dewatering of soils. The benefits of the model lie in the possibility of considering the interactions between the deformations of the soil skeleton and the flow of fluids in a physically consistent manner, in the simultaneous treatment of both the deformation and flow problems, and in the applicability of the model to a broad range of geotechnical tasks. In geomechanics, certain subsets like the two-phase formulations of the model can also be employed for the numerical simulation of geotechnical phenomena, such as dewatering under atmospheric conditions or consolidation.