Implementing dynamic boundary conditions with the material point method

The material point method (MPM) is gaining increasing amounts of attention due to its capacity to solve geotechnical problems involving large-deformations. While some problems require dynamic analysis, simulating the (infinite) continuous domain using typical Dirichlet (fixed) boundary conditions induce spurious reflections causing (1)...

Modelling the Installation of a Cone: Using a 2D-Axisymmetric Material Point Method Model

In this work the installation process of a cone penetrating into a sand system is modelled using a 2D-axisymmetric material point method (MPM) model in order to investigate the installation processes and to predict the plastic radius. One meter of cone penetration is modelled under a surcharge of 50 kPa. The used constitutive model is Mohr...

Development and Preliminary Evaluation of the Main Features of the Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM) for Solid Mechanics

The Particle Finite Element Method is a numerical tool that has been introduced more than a decade ago for the solution of engineering problems involving large deformations. <br/>The method falls under the category of mesh-based particle methods, meaning that all information is stored on moving particles that represent the domain under analysis...

Towards a Material Point Method with Powell-Sabin spline basis functions: MPM with higher-order C1-continuous basis functions on triangulations

The material point method (MPM) is a numerical method for simulating ground deformations, that combinesthe benefits of a fixed grid with movingmaterial points, which carry the history dependent information of thecontinuum. During each time step, this information is projected to the grid, on which the equations of motionare solved and a...

Wind Turbines near Flood Defences: Study on the impact craters of falling nacelles hitting a dike

Building wind turbines near flood defences has numerous advantages over other locations on land. The water authorities, which own the land of the flood defence, will only permit the turbines if the flood protection assessment satisfies the safety standard after the wind turbines have been constructed. There are three types of failure of a wind...

Development and implementation of moving boundary conditions in the Material Point Method

A new technique is developed in this thesis, which applies boundary conditions to moving boundaries in the Material Point Method (MPM). While MPM has been proven to be useful in slope stability, foundation and seabed ploughing modelling, the application of boundary conditions is still a challenge,<br/>because the location of the boundary is...

Contact modelling in the Material Point Method

In recent years, the Material Point Method has emerged as a promising alternative to the Finite Element Method for solving problems involving localised deformations, large displacements or rotations, fracture, contact/impact problems and others. FEMhas been a staple of engineering disciplines both in academia and industry for decades, however...

Numerical stability for velocity-based 2-phase formulation for geotechnical dynamic analysis

In the field of geotechnical engineering, the study of numerous processes such as pile installation requires to model large deformation of soil. Soil is an assembly of solid particles whose pore volume is filled with water or air. Its deformation mainly depends on the highly non-linear stress-strain behaviour of the soil skeleton. In case of the...