Finite Element Analysis of Nonlinear Consolidation

A general finite element method of solving nonlinear consolidation is presented for the unified treatment of saturated and partially saturated soils. Two sources of nonlinear material behavior are identified. The nonlinear material behavior under fully drained condition is represented by an elasto-plastic material model formulated in terms of effective stresses. For partially saturated soils, a constitutive model is presented for representing the compressibility of air-water mixture. The important role of surface tension between pore air and pore water is demonstrated. Surface tension effects are included in the proposed formulation in the form of a constant pressure difference between the pore air and pore water. A method of determination of this pressure difference from laboratory experiments is presented. The proposed compressibility equation of air-water mixture shows stable monotonic decrease with the increasing applied pressure.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Civil Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Kim, Kwang Jin

• Engineering, Civil

Identifier

(UMI)AAI8302908

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/69916