A Non-linear Scaled Boundary Finite-Element Analysis Applied to Geotechnical Problems

Soils as highly nonlinear materials with a non-homogeneous and anisotropic nature often display behavioral complexities under loads. When a soil mass is subjected to a loading, the soil displacements may either be linear or non-linear depending on the amount of load or strength of the soil. Several constitutive models have been so far presented for modeling geotechnical problems. These models have taken very large steps in analyzing and predicting the real behavior of soils. Two main approaches to analyze the stability problems in geotechnical engineering are limit and numerical methods. The limitations associated with the limit methods and inventions of numerical techniques have paved the way for extensive use of numerical methods in analysis of geotechnical problems. In this paper, the semi-analytical scaled boundary finite-element method is employed to perform the elasto-plastic analysis of geotechnical engineering problems. The well-known linear elastic-perfect plastic Mohr-Coulomb criterion is used as the constitutive model. The polygon elements are utilized to discretize the computational domain. Having presented the detailed formulation and solution procedures, three numerical examples are analyzed. The accuracy of the SBFEM in the elasto-plastic analysis of geo-materials is validated by comparing the results with the FEM ones. Excellent agreement is achieved.