Non-Linear Modeling of Pressure-Sinkage Behaviour in Soils Using the Finite Element Method

A non-linear finite element model could be a useful tool in the development of a method of predicting soil pressure-sinkage behaviour, and can be used to investigate and analyze soil compaction. This study was undertaken to emphasize that the finite element method (FEM) is a proper technique to model soil pressure-sinkage behaviour. For this purpose, the finite element method was used to model soil pressure-sinkage behaviour and a two-dimensional finite element program was developed to perform the required numerical calculations. This program was written in FORTRAN. The soil material was considered as an elastoplastic material and the Mohr-Coulomb elastoplastic material model was adopted with the flow rule of associated plasticity. In order to deal with material non-linearity, incremental method was adopted to gradually load the soil and a total Lagran-gian formulation was used to allow for the geometric non-linear behaviour in this study. The FEM model was verified against previously developed models for one circular footing problem and one strip footing problem and the finite element program was used to pre-dict the pressure-sinkage behaviour of the footing surfaces. Statistical analysis of the veri-fication confirmed the validity of the finite element model and demonstrated the potential use of the FEM in predicting soil pressure-sinkage behaviour. However, experimental verification of the model is necessary before the method can be recommended for exten-sive use.