Publications
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Petalas AL, Tsiampousi A, Zdravkovic L, et al., 2022, Numerical investigation of the performance of engineered barriers in controlling stormwater runoff, Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment, Vol: 32, Pages: 1-15, ISSN: 2352-3808
In this paper, 2-dimensional, hydro-mechanically coupled finite element analyses are conducted to assess the performance of an engineered barrier, constructed from natural geomaterials, aimed at reducing flood risk in urban environments. The barrier consists of an unsaturated compacted soil layer with water holding properties and a drainage layer of a coarse granular material, that acts as a capillary break, and is constructed on top of the natural soil, in this case London clay. The barrier is vegetated so that its water storage capacity is renewed after each rainfall event. Sophisticated boundary conditions are used to simulate the effect of precipitation and evapotranspiration. The evolution of the rainfall infiltration and runoff rate is simulated both for a treated soil column with an engineered barrier and an untreated one consisting solely of in-situ London Clay. The percolation rate of rainfall water from the bottom of the barrier is also estimated. This comparison highlights the effectiveness of the engineered barrier in reducing the risk of fast flooding, in preventing excessive deformations and in protecting underground infrastructure during wetting and drying cycles. The effect of the hydraulic properties and geometry of the barrier is investigated by means of an extensive parametric analysis. Finally, recommendations for the design of barrier systems are made.
Koronides M, Kontoe S, Zdravkovic L, et al., 2022, Numerical simulation of real-scale vibration experiments of a steel frame structure on a shallow foundation, 4rth International Conference on Performance-based Design in Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering
Sailer E, Taborda D, Zdravkovic L, et al., 2022, A novel method for designing thermo-active retaining walls using two dimensional analyses, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Geotechnical Engineering, Vol: 175, Pages: 289-310, ISSN: 1353-2618
Thermo-active retaining walls are geotechnical structures employed as heat exchangers to provide low carbon dioxide heating and cooling to buildings. To assess the thermo-mechanical response of such structures, finite-element (FE) analyses are typically carried out. Due to the presence of heat exchanger pipes, the temperature distribution along the width of the wall is not uniform, implying that these problems are three-dimensional (3D) in nature. However, performing 3D FE analyses including elements to model the heat exchanger pipes to simulate the advective conductive heat transfer as well as thermo-hydro-mechanical coupling to reproduce the non-isothermal soil response accurately requires considerable computational effort. In this work, a novel approach to simulate thermo-active walls in 2D analyses was developed, which requires the sole use of thermal boundary conditions. This approach was found to reproduce average wall behaviour computed in 3D to a high degree of accuracy for numerous wall geometries, a wide range of thermal properties of soil and concrete, and different thermal boundary conditions along the exposed face of the wall. In addition, out-of-plane effects recorded in 3D analyses were assessed and an accurate simplified procedure to account for these when performing 2D analyses was developed.
Kontoe S, Summersgill F, Potts D, et al., 2022, On the effectiveness of slope stabilising piles for soils with distinct strain-softening behaviour, Geotechnique, Vol: 72, Pages: 309-321, ISSN: 1021-8637
The stabilisation of slopes with rows of discrete vertical piles is a commonly adopted method for both cuttings as well as embankment slopes. The majority of existing design procedures consider the pile only as an additional force or moment acting on the critical slip surface of the un-stabilised slope. Based on simplified models, existing design methodologies effectively ignore any interaction of the pile with the evolution of the failure mechanism, while they do not consider important aspects of soil behaviour for slope stability relating to strain softening response. This paper presents a numerical investigation that challenges the above-mentioned simplifications, demonstrating the importance of the soil-pile interaction. Two dimensional plane-strain hydro-mechanically coupled finite element analyses were performed to simulate the excavation of a slope, considering materials with both a strain softening and non-softening response. The impact of pile position and time of pile construction on the stability of a cutting were parametrically examined, comparing and contrasting the findings for the different material types. The results suggest that an oversimplification during design regarding the soil/pile interaction could entirely miss the critical failure mechanism.
Koronides M, Kontoe S, Zdravkovic L, et al., 2022, 'Numerical simulations of field soil-structure interaction experiments on a shallow founded steel frame structure, 3rd international Conference on Natural Hazards & Infrastucture
Carter JP, Potts DM, Gens A, 2022, Scott William Sloan 1954-2019, HISTORICAL RECORDS OF AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE, Vol: 33, Pages: 64-71, ISSN: 0727-3061
Ruiz Lopez A, Tsiampousi A, Standing J, et al., 2022, Numerical investigation of a segmental grey cast iron tunnel ring: validation with laboratory data and application to field conditions, Computers and Geotechnics, Vol: 141, Pages: 1-19, ISSN: 0266-352X
The structural response of a segmental grey cast iron (GCI) tunnel lining ring under distortion was investigated by means of finite element (FE) analysis. Building on previous experimental investigations, a 3D numerical model, capable of reproducing accurately the behaviour observed in the laboratory, was developed with the aim of providing guidelines for the structural assessment of GCI linings in engineering practice. A comprehensive validation of the segmental ring model with the laboratory data was first completed. Subsequently, a parametric study was conducted using a set-up that replicated the widely adopted elastic continuum method, so that differences between the numerical and the analytical solution could be attributed to the presence of the longitudinal joints. In this manner, the influence of the joints on the ring response was quantitatively established and recommendations for routine engineering calculations developed. A set of bending stiffness reduction factors are proposed as a function of the tunnel ovalisation, providing upper and lower limits of the bending stiffness, as well as a global reduction factor which is an average measure of the bending stiffness reduction. These factors can be integrated into the calculation procedure of closed-form solutions in order to account for the segmental nature of GCI linings.
Cui W, Potts DM, Pedro AMG, et al., 2021, Numerical assessment of the effects of end-restraints and a pre-existing fissure on the interpretation of triaxial tests on stiff clays, Geotechnique: international journal of soil mechanics, Vol: 71, Pages: 765-780, ISSN: 0016-8505
Conventional laboratory triaxial tests apply axisymmetric boundary conditions to a cylindrical sample which has an axisymmetric geometry. For a homogeneous sample this implies that the deformed shape of the sample should maintain an axisymmetric geometry during the test. Consequently, the sample should deform in a barrelling mode and if slip planes develop they should define a cup and cone-like failure surface. However, in many triaxial tests such behaviour is not observed, especially as failure is approached when a planar slip surface develops. Such a deformation mode is not axisymmetric. One reason for this behaviour is that a fissure pre-exists in the sample. Employing hydro-mechanically coupled three-dimensional finite-element analyses, this paper investigates the influence of a single fissure in a triaxial sample of stiff clay on its behaviour throughout the test, focusing on the fissure position, orientation, strength and stiffness, in conjunction with the sample's end-restraints (rough or smooth). The effects are quantified in terms of the sample's overall stiffness and strength, indicating that the presence of a fissure can affect the very small strain stiffness, and that it has a significant effect on the strength of the sample, demonstrating that the conventional methods used to interpret laboratory tests may give unconservative results. The results also show a significant effect of the conditions at the top and bottom surfaces of the sample, where in particular the lateral restraint and rough ends introduce ‘bending’ in the sample.
Zdravković L, Potts DM, Taborda DMG, 2021, Integrating laboratory and field testing into advanced geotechnical design, Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment, Vol: 27, Pages: 1-21, ISSN: 2352-3808
Contemporary geotechnical design often requires the use of advanced numerical analysis, if it is to take account of the complex nature of many geotechnical problems. One crucial aspect of such analyses is the realistic representation of the facets of soil behaviour that are dominant in any given problem, which in turn requires a careful selection of an appropriate constitutive model and derivation of model parameters from the available, and often disparate, experimental data. This paper uses the authors’ experience of advanced numerical analysis and constitutive modelling to emphasise the importance of close integration of the process involved with interpreting experimental data with the process of selecting and calibrating advanced constitutive models, in successfully predicting the response of geotechnical structures.
Potts DM, Cui W, Zdravković L, 2021, A coupled THM finite element formulation for unsaturated soils and a strategy for its nonlinear solution, Computers and Geotechnics, Vol: 136, ISSN: 0266-352X
This paper presents a coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) finite element (FE) formulation which is capable of accounting for the effects of temperature change on the behaviour of unsaturated soils. Both vapour flow and density variation are taken into account in the development of this formulation. The full derivation procedure is provided and the adopted assumptions are stated and explained. To improve the efficiency of the nonlinear solution process while maintaining the accuracy of the prediction, a novel approach for determining iterative corrections when modelling coupled transient problems with the Newton-Raphson algorithm is established and presented here. The performance of the proposed FE formulation and of the new strategy for iterative corrections in a nonlinear solver is subsequently demonstrated and verified by simulations of laboratory experiments on unsaturated compacted bentonite, showing good agreement between the numerical and experimental results.
Gawecka K, Cui W, Taborda D, et al., 2021, Predictive modelling of thermo-active tunnels in London Clay, Geotechnique: international journal of soil mechanics, Vol: 71, Pages: 735-748, ISSN: 0016-8505
Thermo-active structures are underground facilities which enable the exchange of thermal energy between the ground and the overlying buildings, thus providing renewable means of space heating and cooling. Although this technology is becoming increasingly popular, the behaviour of geotechnical structures under additional thermal loading is still not fully understood. This paper focuses on the use of underground tunnels as thermo-active structures and explains their behaviour through a series of finite element analyses based on an existing case study of isothermal tunnels in London Clay. The bespoke finite element codeI CFEP is adopted which is capable of simulating the fully coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of porous materials. The complex coupled interactions between the tunnel and the surrounding soil are explored bycomparing results from selected types of coupledand uncoupled simulations. It is demonstratedthat: (1) the thermally-induceddeformation of the tunnel and the ground are more critical design aspects than the thermally-induced forces in the tunnel lining, and (2) the modelling approach in terms of the type of analysis, as well as the assumed permeability of the tunnel lining, have a significant effect on the computed tunnel response and,hence, must be chosen carefully
Sailer E, Taborda DMG, Zdravkovic L, et al., 2021, Thermo-hydro-mechanical interactions in porous media: implications on thermo-active retaining walls, Computers and Geotechnics, Vol: 135, Pages: 1-16, ISSN: 0266-352X
Thermo-active structures exchange heat with the ground to provide thermal energy to buildings. Consequently, the ground is subjected to changes in temperature, inducing thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) interactions within the soil. To provide insights into the origin and manifestations of the main mechanisms taking place in complex fully THM-coupled finite element (FE) analyses, simple, one-dimensional problems are firstly analysed in this paper and compared to analytical expressions developed for determining thermally-induced excess pore water pressures in undrained problems with different displacement restraints. Subsequently, various dimensionless parameters are established to evaluate the impact of varying ground properties on the observed THM interactions and their evolution with time. Finally, the findings from simple one-dimensional problems are verified in the context of THM modelling of thermo-active retaining walls, where the structural response of walls is shown to be highly transient and influenced by different phenomena prevailing over different periods involving thermal expansion of soils, volumetric deformations due to pore water generation and dissipation, and interactions with mechanical boundary conditions. The results also highlight the importance of performing fully coupled THM analyses and of a correct estimation of the hydraulic and thermal properties to guarantee a safe design of thermo-active structures.
Petalas A, Tsiampousi A, Zdravkovic L, et al., 2021, Numerical investigation of the performance of engineered barriers in reducing flood risk, 3rd Pan-American Conference on Unsaturated Soils
Wan MSP, Standing JR, Potts DM, et al., 2021, Discussion of pore water pressure and total horizontal stress response to EPBM tunnelling in London Clay, Geotechnique: international journal of soil mechanics, Vol: 71, Pages: 368-372, ISSN: 0016-8505
Zdravkovic L, Cui W, Gawecka K, et al., 2021, Numerical Modelling of Thermo-Active Piles, PIling 2020
Wan MSP, Standing JR, Potts DM, et al., 2021, Measured post-construction ground response to EPBM tunnelling in London Clay, 10th International Symposium on Geotechnical Aspects of Underground Construction in Soft Ground (IS-Cambridge), Publisher: ROUTLEDGE, Pages: 191-198
Lopez AR, Tsiampousi A, Taborda DMG, et al., 2021, Numerical investigation into time-dependent effects on short-term tunnelling-induced ground response in London Clay, 10th International Symposium on Geotechnical Aspects of Underground Construction in Soft Ground (IS-Cambridge), Publisher: ROUTLEDGE, Pages: 597-604
Tsaparli V, Kontoe S, Taborda D, et al., 2020, Resonance as the source of high vertical accelerations: field demonstration and impact on offshore wind turbines, 4th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics
Recent studies have demonstrated the significance of the vertical seismic acceleration component for offshore wind turbines, as their low natural period in this direction can result in significant excitation, potentially making this load case design-driving. Unexpectedly high vertical ground accelerations, well exceeding their horizontal counterparts, have also been recorded in a number of recent seismic events. This study explores the concept of resonance between the vertical seismic component and the natural frequency for compressional waves of fully saturated soil deposits, which can aggravate further the vertical accelerations at the top of structures of interest, using numerical analysis and monitoring data. The site response at a strong motion station that registered the second highest peak ground vertical acceleration during the 2011 Mw 6.2 Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand is modelled in finite element analyses. Two different depths are also considered: the first one is truncated at the interface of the softer surficial deposits with the stiff gravel horizon. This has been shown to be adequate for S-wave propagation modelling. Conversely, the second one models the full depth to bedrock. Despite the number of uncertainties involved, the results validate the concept of resonance in compression against field measurements and demonstrate the importance of the modelled depth in the case of vertical site response analysis.
Grammatikopoulou A, Schroeder FC, Pedone G, et al., 2020, 3D finite element analysis of monopiles and its application in offshore wind farm design, 4th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics
Zdravkovic L, Taborda DMG, Potts DM, 2020, Effect of interface conditions on the response of laterally loaded monopiles in sand, 4th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics
Carter JP, Gens A, Potts DM, 2020, Scott William Sloan OBITUARY, Geotechnique: international journal of soil mechanics, Vol: 70, Pages: 1174-1175, ISSN: 0016-8505
Moeller JK, Kontoe S, Taborda D, et al., 2020, Maximum depth of liquefaction based on fully-coupled time domain site response analysis, 4th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics
Soil susceptibility to liquefaction is most commonly assessed in engineering practice using empirical correlations of in-situ tests with observed surface manifestations of liquefaction in case histories. This simplified design method further incorporates a correction factor for varying overburden pressure, derived from laboratory data, and provides expressions for earthquake induced shear stresses based on simplified one-dimensional equivalent linear site response analysis. The resulting factor of safety against liquefaction is only valid for the depths represented in the laboratory test data, case history data and the site response analyses, i.e. a maximum depth of 20 m. In order to evaluate the susceptibility of soils at larger depths, one-dimensional time-domain site response analyses are carried out, showing the extent of the liquefied zone for sand deposits of different depths. This study evaluates the performance of a bounding surface plasticity model in comparison with a nonlinear elastic cyclic model regarding the amplification and damping of certain frequency contents of shear waves propagating through deep soil deposits. These findings are of particular relevance for applications in offshore geotechnical engineering, where liquefaction in large depths can have severe effects on the load-carrying capacity of deep pile foundations.
Byrne BW, McAdam RA, Beuckelaers WJAP, et al., 2020, Cyclic laterally loaded medium scale field pile testing for the PISA project, 4th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics
Kirkham A, Tsiampousi A, Potts D, 2020, Development of a new temperature-controlled oedometer, 2nd International Conference on Energy Geotechnics (ICEGT 2020), Publisher: EDP Sciences, Pages: 1-7
A new temperature-controlled oedometer has been designed at Imperial College London and commissioned to investigate the thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of soils. Under oedometric conditions, temperature can be varied between 5°C and 70°C, by submerging the specimen in a temperature-controlled water bath. This temperature range is appropriate for the proposed applications of the research: design of ground-source heating/cooling systems, and design of geological disposal facilities for nuclear waste. In this paper, an overview of the new equipment is given: its design, development, and calibration. First, the literature on temperature-controlled oedometer schemes is reviewed. A description of the equipment follows, with further details on the innovations and limitations of this design. As the equipment has been modified and improved over the course of the research, so too has the calibration procedure. These developments are discussed, again with the focus on innovations and limitations. Finally, a test programme and preliminary results are presented, for saturated KSS, an artificial mixture of kaolin clay, silt, and sand. These include isobaric (constant-pressure) heating tests, for a variety of loading histories. Over-consolidation ratio is found to affect the thermally-induced volume change.
Sailer E, Taborda D, Zdravkovic L, et al., 2020, Simplified methods for designing thermo-active retaining walls, 2nd International Conference on Energy Geotechnics (ICEGT2020), Publisher: EDP Sciences, Pages: 06011-06011, ISSN: 2267-1242
Thermo-active retaining structures are geotechnical structures employed to provide thermal energy to buildings for space heating and cooling through heat exchanger pipes embedded within the concrete structure. Consequently, the design of these structures needs to consider both the long-term energy efficiency as well as the thermo-mechanical response in terms of stability and serviceability. Transient finite element analyses can be carried out to evaluate the behaviour of thermo-active walls, where the heat exchanger pipes are explicitly modelled, thus requiring three-dimensional (3D) analyses. However, performing long-term 3D finite element analyses is computationally expensive. For this reason, in this study, new approaches are presented that allow the thermal or thermo-mechanical design of thermo-active walls to be carried out by performing two-dimensional (2D) plane strain analyses. Two methods, which are based on different design criteria, are proposed and their performance in replicating the three-dimensional behaviour is assessed. Furthermore, the factors affecting the 2D approximations for the two modelling approaches are evaluated, where particular emphasis is given to the influence of the simulated boundary condition along the exposed face of the retaining wall.
Liu R, Sailer E, Taborda D, et al., 2020, Evaluating the impact of different pipe arrangements on the thermal performance of thermo-active piles, 2nd International Conference on Energy Geotechnics (ICEGT2020), Publisher: EDP Sciences, Pages: 05006-05006, ISSN: 2267-1242
Thermo-active piles are widely utilised for low carbon heating and cooling, and their uses are further encouraged in cities where there are obligations for developments larger than a certain threshold to generate a portion of their estimated energy use on site in a renewable manner. It is therefore important to model accurately the thermal performance of the designed thermo-active piles to ensure that such obligations are complied with. In this paper, the thermal performance of a thermo-active pile is quantified by the evolution with time of the power that can be harnessed from the pile, obtained from 3D thermo-hydro-mechanically coupled finite element analyses which include the simulation of a hot fluid flowing through heat exchanger pipes. Different pipe arrangements are considered in this study, in order to demonstrate the potential gains in efficiency arising from the installation of multiple U-loops within the pile. Furthermore, detailed analysis of the heat fluxes resulting from pipe-pile-soil interaction is carried out, illustrating the contribution of the different components of the system (concrete, near-field and far-field) to the overall storage of thermal energy.
Burd HJ, Taborda D, Zdravkovic L, et al., 2020, PISA design model for monopiles for offshore wind turbines: application to a marine sand, Geotechnique, Vol: 70, Pages: 1048-1066, ISSN: 0016-8505
This paper describes a one-dimensional (1D) computational model for the analysis and design of laterally loaded monopile foundations for offshore wind turbine applications. The model represents the monopile as an embedded beam and specially formulated functions, referred to as soil reaction curves, are employed to represent the various components of soil reaction that are assumed to act on the pile. This design model was an outcome of a recently completed joint industry research project – known as PISA – on the development of new procedures for the design of monopile foundations for offshore wind applications. The overall framework of the model, and an application to a stiff glacial clay till soil, is described in a companion paper by Byrne and co-workers; the current paper describes an alternative formulation that has been developed for soil reaction curves that are applicable to monopiles installed at offshore homogeneous sand sites, for drained loading. The 1D model is calibrated using data from a set of three-dimensional finite-element analyses, conducted over a calibration space comprising pile geometries, loading configurations and soil relative densities that span typical design values. The performance of the model is demonstrated by the analysis of example design cases. The current form of the model is applicable to homogeneous soil and monotonic loading, although extensions to soil layering and cyclic loading are possible.
Byrne BW, Houlsby GT, Burd HJ, et al., 2020, PISA design model for monopiles for offshore wind turbines: application to a stiff glacial clay till, Geotechnique, Vol: 70, Pages: 1030-1047, ISSN: 1021-8637
Offshore wind turbines in shallow coastal waters are typically supported on monopile foundations.Although three dimensional (3D) finite element methods are available for the design of monopiles inthis context, much of the routine design work is currently conducted using simplified one dimensional(1D) models based on the p-y method. The p-y method was originally developed for the relativelylarge embedded length-to-diameter ratio (L/D) piles that are typically employed in offshore oil and gasstructures. Concerns exist, however, that this analysis approach may not be appropriate formonopiles with the relatively low values of L/D that are typically adopted for offshore wind turbinestructures. This paper describes a new 1D design model for monopile foundations; the model isspecifically formulated for offshore wind turbine applications although the general approach could beadopted for other applications. The model draws on the conventional p-y approach, but extends it toinclude additional components of soil reaction that act on the pile. The 1D model is calibrated using aset of bespoke 3D finite element analyses of monopile performance, for pile characteristics andloading conditions that span a predefined design space. The calibrated 1D model provides results thatmatch those obtained from the 3D finite element calibration analysis, but at a fraction of thecomputational cost. Moreover, within the calibration space, the 1D model is capable of delivering highfidelity computations of monopile performance that can be used directly for design purposes. This 1Dmodelling approach is demonstrated for monopiles installed in a stiff overconsolidated glacial clay tillwith a typical North Sea strength and stiffness profile. Although the current form of the model hasbeen developed for homogeneous soil and monotonic loading, it forms a basis from which extensionsfor soil layering and cyclic loading can be developed. The general approach can be applied to otherfoundation and soil-structu
Taborda D, Zdravkovic L, Potts DM, et al., 2020, Finite-element modelling of laterally loaded piles in a dense marine sand at Dunkirk, Geotechnique: international journal of soil mechanics, Vol: 70, Pages: 1014-1029, ISSN: 0016-8505
The paper presents the development of a three-dimensional finite-element model for pile tests in dense Dunkirk sand, conducted as part of the PISA project. The project was aimed at developing improved design methods for laterally loaded piles, as used in offshore wind turbine foundations. The importance of the consistent and integrated interpretation of the soil data from laboratory and field investigations is particularly emphasised. The chosen constitutive model for sand is an enhanced version of the state parameter-based bounding surface plasticity model, which, crucially, is able to reproduce the dependency of sand behaviour on void ratio and stress level. The predictions from three-dimensional finite-element analyses, performed before the field tests, show good agreement with the measured behaviour, proving the adequacy of the developed numerical model and the calibration process for the constitutive model. This numerical model directly facilitated the development of new soil reaction curves for use in Winkler-type design models for laterally loaded piles in natural marine sands.
Zdravkovic L, Taborda D, Potts D, et al., 2020, Finite-element modelling of laterally loaded piles in a stiff glacial clay till at Cowden, Geotechnique: international journal of soil mechanics, Vol: 70, Pages: 999-1013, ISSN: 0016-8505
The PISA project was a combined field testing/numerical modelling study with the aim of developing improved design procedures for large-diameter piles subjected to lateral loading. This paper describes the development of a three-dimensional finite-element model for the medium-scale pile tests that were conducted in Cowden till as part of the PISA work. The paper places particular emphasis on the consistent interpretation of the soil data determined from the available field and laboratory information. An enhanced version of the modified Cam clay model was employed in the numerical analyses, featuring a non-linear Hvorslev surface, a generalised shape for the yield and plastic potential surfaces in the deviatoric plane and a non-linear formulation for the elastic shear modulus. Three-dimensional finite-element analyses were performed prior to the field tests. Excellent agreement between the measured and simulated behaviour for a range of pile geometries was observed, demonstrating the accuracy of the numerical model and the adequacy of the calibration process for the constitutive model. The developed numerical model confirmed the premise of the PISA design method that site-specific ground characterisation and advanced numerical modelling can directly facilitate the development of additional soil reaction curves for use in new design models for laterally loaded piles in a stiff clay till.
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