TITLE:
Isogeometric Analysis of Soil Plasticity
AUTHORS:
Alex Spetz, Erika Tudisco, Ralf Denzer, Ola Dahlblom
KEYWORDS:
Isogeometric Analysis, NURBS, Numerical Methods, Soil Plasticity
JOURNAL NAME:
Geomaterials,
Vol.7 No.3,
July
28,
2017
ABSTRACT: In this paper we present numerical simulations of soil plasticity using isogeometric
analysis comparing the results to the solutions from conventional finite
element method. Isogeometric analysis is a numerical method that uses nonuniform
rational B-splines (NURBS) as basis functions instead of the Lagrangian
polynomials often used in the finite element method. These functions
have a higher-order of continuity, making it possible to represent complex
geometries exactly. After a brief outline of the theory behind the isogeometric
concept, we give a presentation of the constitutive equations, used to simulate
the soil behavior in this work. The paper concludes with numerical examples
in two- and three-dimensions, which assess the accuracy of isogeometric
analysis for simulations of soil behavior. The numerical examples presented
show, that for drained soils, the results from isogeometric analysis are overall
in good agreement with the conventional finite element method in two- and
three-dimensions. Thus isogeometric analysis is a good alternative to conventional
finite element analysis for simulations of soil behavior.