SUT-DAM: An integrated software environment for multi-disciplinary geotechnical engineering

As computer simulation increasingly supports engineering design, the requirement for a computer software environment providing an integration platform for computational engineering software increases. A key component of an integrated environment is the use of computational engineering to assist and support solutions for complex design. In the present paper, an integrated software environment is demonstrated for multi-disciplinary computational modeling of structural and geotechnical problems. The SUT-DAM is designed in both popularity and functionality with the development of user-friendly pre- and post-processing software. Pre-processing software is used to create the model, generate an appropriate finite element grid, apply the appropriate boundary conditions, and view the total model. Post-processing provides visualization of the computed results. In SUT-DAM, a numerical model is developed based on a Lagrangian finite element formulation for large deformation dynamic analysis of saturated and unsaturated soils. An adaptive FEM strategy is used into the large displacement finite element formulation by employing an error estimator, adaptive mesh refinement, and data transfer operator. This consists in defining new appropriate finite element mesh within the updated, deformed geometry and interpolating (mapping) the pertinent variables from one mesh to another in order to continue the analysis. The SUT-DAM supports different yield criteria, including classical and advanced constitutive models, such as the Pastor-Zienkiewicz and cap plasticity models. The paper presents details of the environment and includes several examples of the integration of application software. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.