Analytical and numerical models of debris flow impact

A full understanding of the interaction mechanisms among flow-like landslides and impacted protection structures is still an open issue. Although several approaches, from experimental to numerical, have been used so far, a thoroughly assessment of the hydromechanical behaviour of the landslide body is achievable only through a multiphase and...

Empirical formulation for debris flow impact and energy release

Full understanding the interaction mechanisms between flow-like landslides and the impacted protection structures is an open issue. While several approaches, from experimental to numerical, have been used so far, it is clear that the adequate assessment of the hydromechanical behaviour of the landslide body requires both a multiphase and...

Extension of B-spline Material Point Method for unstructured triangular grids using Powell–Sabin splines

The Material Point Method (MPM) is a numerical technique that combines a fixed Eulerian background grid and Lagrangian point masses to simulate materials which undergo large deformations. Within the original MPM, discontinuous gradients of the piecewise-linear basis functions lead to the so-called grid-crossing errors when particles cross...

Taylor least squares reconstruction technique for material point methods

The material point method (MPM) is an effective computational tool for simulating problems involving large deformations. However, its direct mapping of the material-point data to the background grid frequently leads to severe inaccuracies. The standard function reconstruction techniques can considerably decrease these errors, but do not...

Moving least squares reconstruction for B-spline Material Point Method

The paper shows a moving least squares reconstruction technique applied to the B-spline Material Point Method (B-spline MPM). It has been shown previously that B-spline MPM can reduce grid-crossing errors inherent in the original Material Point Method. However, in the large deformation regime where the gridcrossing occurs more frequently, the...

Comparison between Material Point Method and meshfree schemes derived from optimal transportation theory

Both the Material Point Method (MPM) and meshfree schemes based on optimal transport theory have been developed for efficient and robust integration of the weak form equations originating from computational mechanics. Although the methods are derived in a different fashion, their algorithms share many similarities. In this paper, we outline the...

Implementation of non-trivial boundary conditions in MPM for geotechnical applications

This paper describes current work on the implementation of non-trivial boundary conditions (BCs) for improving the general applicability of the Material Point Method (MPM) to geotechnical boundary values problems. It summarises novel boundary treatments (non-trivial BCs) in MPM for (i) flow conditions, as well as (ii) the application of a...

The use of MPM to estimate the behaviour of rigid structures during landslides

In geotechnical engineering, proper design of retaining structures is of great importance, since failure of these structures can lead to catastrophic consequences. Nowadays, the finite element method is seen as a reliable numerical technique to analyze soil behaviour and is widely used to assess the interaction be-tween soil and rigid structures...

On the practical use of the Material Point Method for offshore geotechnical applications

The Material Point Method (MPM) has been developed as a special finite element-based method for large deformation analysis, material flow and contact problems. When it comes to applications in soil, MPM can provide solutions where conventional FEM faces its limitations. Examples of geotechnical applications include landslides, silo filling and...

Comparison of press-replace method and material point method for analysis of jacked piles

In this study, installation of jacked piles in sand is simulated using Press-Replace Method (PRM) and Material Point Method (MPM) and the results are compared together. This comparison is important because a realistic and yet efficient simulation of installation of jacked piles is an appealing step towards the design and analysis of this type of...