Abstract

In this paper, unsaturated soil behaviour is numerically simulated using a modified version of the Barcelona Basic Model. The model has been implemented as a User-Defined Soil Model (UDSM) in the finite element code PLAXIS. Unlike the original formulation based on net stress, this model is formulated based on the well-known Bishop's effective stress, with suction as an additional stress variable. Furthermore, a non-associated flow rule and the dependency on Lode's angle are incorporated. The Soil Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC) follows the Van Genuchten model. First, the simulation of laboratory tests along different stress paths and levels of suction are compared against experimental data. Then, an unsaturated soil embankment subject to a time-dependent precipitation is simulated by means of a fully coupled flow-deformation analysis. The results show the capability of the model to reproduce the main features of unsaturated soil behaviour both at material point level and in boundary value problems.

This paper was presented at the 8th International Conference on Unsaturated Soils (UNSAT 2023), and is available here:
Finite element modelling of unsaturated soils using a modified version of the Barcelona Basic Model - Laera, et al. (2023); https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202338215005.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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