Soil-Geogrid Interaction Analysis Using A Coupled Finite-Discrete Element Method

Viet D.H. Tran, Mohamed A. Meguid, Luc E. Chouinard

In the proceedings of: GeoMontréal 2013: 66th Canadian Geotechnical Conference; 11th joint with IAH-CNC

Session: Foundations II

ABSTRACT: The response of geogrid reinforcement is mainly dependent on the interaction between the geogrid and surrounding soil. Modeling this interaction is challenging, particularly, if details are needed at the particle scale level. A new numerical framework that takes advantage of both the finite and discrete element approaches to investigate soil-geogrid interaction problems is described in this paper. The proposed method uses finite elements to model the geogrid and discrete particles to model the surrounding soil to reflect the discontinuous nature of the granular material. The coupled framework is used to simulate two geotechnical problems, namely, geogrid pullout test and strip footing on geogrid-reinforced sand. The numerical results are validated with experimental data and used to provide a new insight into the nature of the soil-geogrid interaction in both cases.

RÉSUMÉ: Le compoprtement des gcontact. La modélisation de cette particules de sol. Un nouvel algorithme combinant une approche par éléments finis et par éléments discrets est proposé. Les élément finis sont uitilisés pour modéliser la géogrille et les éléments discrets pour modéliser le sol en la géogrille en tension, et 2) une semelle de fondation reposant sur une couche de sable renforcée par une géogrille. Les résultats numériques sont validés par comparaison avec des données expérimentales et utilisés afin de mieux

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