21scheme vtu syllabus of visveraya technological university
FE coding and Analysis on Seepage and slope stability
1. FE Numerical Coding and Analysis on
Seepage & Slope Stability
Presented by: Wang Xuejun
Email: wangxuejun@gmail.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/wangxuejun
Master thesis work in Tianjin Univ. (1996- 1999)
3. Introduction
Seepage reduces the stability of soil slope
Seepage makes it easier for soil particles to slide
over each other during failure
Pore water pressures reduce the inherent strength
and stability of a soil mass
Analysis methods
The classical slope stability analysis based on
limit equilibrium (generally using method of slices)
Numeric solutions mostly based on the finite
elements method
4. Introduction
Total stress method (left) .vs. effective
stress method (right)
surrounding water pressure
soil saturated density
seepage force (pore pressure)
soil buoyancy density
5. Introduction
A FEM based program is developed to analyze
slope stability under seepage
Stead state flow modeling
Phreatic surface & pore pressure distribution
Seepage force
Elasto-plastic soil stress-strain modeling
Plastic zone to predict the slope failure
Result comparison between the FE method and
Classic method
6. Methodology-seepage analysis
Use Darcy Rule to solve pore pressure
distribution & phreatic surface
Steady flow
Saturated flow
0)()(
y
h
k
yx
h
k
x
yx
impervious boundary
phreatic
surface
7. Methodology-seepage analysis
FE program implementation-flow chart
Start
Data input, Initialization, Check
Element stiffness; Assemble to give the global
stiffness matrix & ‘load’ vector
Gauss elimination solver
Check pore pressure for each nodes
Mark nodes & modified node water
head information
Satisfied
Calculate phreatic surface
Seepage gradient
Seepage force on nodes
Iteration
OutPut
end
No
8. Methodology-seepage analysis
FE program implementation
Numerical integration
Nodal seepage force
Hydraulic gradient
Nodal seepage force as the body force
yh
xh
i
i
i
y
x
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
1
Nge T T
ig ig ig ig igi
ig
i dxdy W N i g JF N
9. Methodology-seepage analysis
Phreatic surface solved using iteration method
Abandon& mark all elements above the upper-
stream water level
Solve & check nodal water head by
h≥Z+ERROR
Mark those nodes violate & abandon by
modifying the GM
Iteration till convergence
Phreatic surface obtained by interpolation between
those transition elements
ii
ji
ij
ZF
ijnjK
ijnjK
);,1(0
);,1(0
11. Methodology-FE soil stress-strain analysis
Elasto-plastic constitutive model
Mohr-column criterion in terms of principal
stresses
12. Methodology-FE soil stress-strain analysis
Elastic calculation using Hook’s Law
Plastic calculation-associated flow rule
Strain decomposition
Incremental stress calculation
Hardening law in differential form
Nonlinear solver
Combination of the initial & tangential stiffness method
'
p
p
d
H
d
13. Methodology-FE soil stress-strain analysis
Flow Chart
Data input & initialization & effective nodal force vector
Calculate initial stresses distribution
Apply given incremental loads
Assemble the elastic or EP stiffness matrix
Solve euqations
Calculate residual forces
ConvergenceNo
OutPut
15. Applications -slope stability under seepage
analysis
Consider hydraulic conductivity
heterogeneity in soil slope by dividing
into two different zones
Use soil plastic zone to predict potential
sliding surface
Used other methods based on the FE
simulated stress distributions
Use limited equilibrium methods
16. Applications
Mesh and boundary
Hydraulic conductivity heterogeneity
impervious boundary
Case 1 case2 case 3 case 4
uniform 5 5 1 5 1
1
17. Analysis result for case 1
Case 1:Phreatic surface and hydraulic
gradient distribution in homogeneous case
18. Analysis result for case 1
Soil plastic zone
Nodal Displacement
BC in FE
model
19. Analysis result for case 2
Two zones separated by the horizontal line
with (K1=5K2 )-Phreatic surface and hydraulic
gradient distribution
25. Other methods based on FE results
Factor of safety method (for a given
potential sliding surface)
Force equilibrium method
F
i i
S
i
l
K
l
( )
n
i i i i
i
F n
i i
i
f c l
K
l
Potential sliding
surface
Element cut by
potential sliding
surface
27. Concluding remarks
An alternative method to predict the slope
failure surface induced by the seepage.
Result shows good agreement with that by
limited equilibrium method (simplified Bishop
method) using FE predicted ground water
table.
Non-homogenous hydraulic conductivity has
great influence on the soil slope stability.