A material point/finite volume method for coupled shallow water flows and large dynamic deformations in seabeds

A hybrid material point/finite volume method for the numerical simulation of shallow water waves caused by large dynamic deformations in the bathymetry is presented. The proposed model consists of coupling the nonlinear shallow water equations for the water flow and a dynamic elastoplastic system for the seabed deformation. As a constitutive...

Fully implicit, stabilised MPM simulation of large-deformation problems in two-phase elastoplastic geomaterials

The Material Point Method (MPM) has been gaining increasing popularity as an appropriate approach to the solution of coupled hydro-mechanical problems involving large deformations. This study extends the implicit GIMP-patch method for coupled poroelastic problems recently proposed by Zheng et al. (2021b) to tackle large-deformation problems...

Fully implicit, stabilised, three-field material point method for dynamic coupled problems

This study presents the formulation and implementation of a fully implicit stabilised Material Point Method (MPM) for dynamic problems in two-phase porous media. In particular, the proposed method is built on a three-field formulation of the governing conservation laws, which uses solid displacement, pore pressure and fluid displacement as...

Evaluating residual dyke resistance using the Random Material Point Method

Due to a lack of large deformation dyke assessment models, primary failure mechanisms, such as inner slope failure, are often used as a proxy to assess the probability of failure of a dyke. However, a dyke continues to fulfil its main function unless, or until, flooding occurs. The Random Material Point Method (RMPM) is used here to investigate...

An explicit stabilised material point method for coupled hydromechanical problems in two-phase porous media

This paper presents a single-point Material Point Method (MPM) for large deformation problems in two-phase porous media such as soils. Many MPM formulations are known to produce numerical oscillations and inaccuracies in the simulated results, largely due to numerical integration and stress recovery performed at non-ideal locations, cell...

Development of an implicit contact technique for the material point method

An implicit contact algorithm for the material point method (MPM) has been developed to simulate contact. This allows recently developed implicit MPM codes to simulate large-scale deformations and interaction with external bodies. The performance of the method has been investigated and compared to an existing explicit method using benchmark...

Development of a Robust Coupled Material Point Method

The material point method (MPM) shows promise for the simulation of large deformations in history-dependent materials such as soils. However, in general, it suffers from oscillations and inaccuracies due to its use of numerical integration and stress recovery at non-ideal locations. The development of a hydro-mechanical model, which does not...

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...

An investigation of stress inaccuracies and proposed solution in the material point method

Stress inaccuracies (oscillations) are one of the main problems in the material point method (MPM), especially when advanced constitutive models are used. The origins of such oscillations are a combination of poor force and stiffness integration, stress recovery inaccuracies, and cell crossing problems. These are caused mainly by the use of...

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...

Rainfall-induced slope collapse with coupled material point method

Rainfall-induced slope failures are a major category of slope failure, with incidents likely to increase with the predicted escalation of extreme rainfall events. Traditional numerical methods such as the finite element method are often restricted in their applicability to small deformation analyses. Therefore, incomplete descriptions of the...

Slope failure simulations with MPM

The simulation of slope failures, including both failure initiation and development, has been modelled using the material point method (MPM). Numerical case studies involving various slope angles, heterogeneity and rainfall infiltration are presented. It is demonstrated that, by utilising a constitutive model which encompasses, in a...

Compound material point method (CMPM) to improve stress recovery for quasi-static problems

Stress oscillations and inaccuracies are commonly reported in the material point method (MPM). This paper investigates the causes and presents a method to reduce them. The oscillations are shown to result from, at least in part, two distinctly different causes, both originating from the shape function approximations used. The first is due to the...

Slope Failure Simulations with MPM

The simulation of slope failures, including both failure initiation and development, has been modelled using the material point method. By utilising a constitutive model which encompasses, in a simplified manner, both pre- and post-failure behaviour, the majority of types of geotechnical slope failure can be observed in the simulations. This is...