GEOTECHNICAL

ANALYSIS
Jorge A. Prieto-S. PhD, Peng, Profesor EAFIT
Based on the Class Notes by Profesor D. M. Potts, Imperial
College of Science Technology and Medicine, University of
London, U. K.

Nearly all civil engineering structures involve the ground

in some way. Cut slopes, Earth and Rockfill
embankments, see Figure, are made from geological
materials. The soil (or rock) provides both the
destabilizing and stabilizing forces which maintain
equilibrium of the structures. Raft and piled foundations
transfer loads from buildings, bridges and offshore
structures to be resisted by the ground. Retaining walls
enable vertical excavations to be made. In most
situations the soil provides both the activating and
resisting forces with the Wall and its structural support
providing a transfer mechanism. Geotechnical
engineering therefore plays a major role in the design of
civil engineering structures.

When designing any geothecnical structure the engineer

must:
Ensure that it is stable and has an adequate margin of
safety against collapse.
Calculate any structural forces (bending moments, shear
and axial forces) under working and ultimate loading
conditions.
Estimate movements, both of the structure and of the
ground. This is particularly important if there are adjacent
buildings and/or sensitive services. For example, if an
excavation is to made in an urban area close to existing
services and buildings, then one of the key see adjacent
figure, design constraints will be the effect that the
excavation has on the adjacent structures and services. It
may be necessary to estimate any structural forces induced
in these structures and/or services

As part of the design process it will be necessary for the

engineer to perform calculations to provide estimates of
the above quantities. Analysis provides the framework for
such calculations. While an important part of the design
process, analysis only provides the engineer with a tool
to quantify effects once material properties and loading
conditions have been set. The design process involves
considerably more tan analysis.

THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Requirements for a General Solution
In general, a theoretical solution must satisfy the
following:
EQUILIBRIUM
COMPATIBILITY
THE MATERIAL CONSTITUTIVE BEHAVIOUR
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS (BOTH FORCE AND
DISPLACEMENT)

Equilibrium
Neglecting inertia effects and all body forces except self
weight, stresses in the soil mass must satisfy the
following three equations.

Compatibility
Physically
Consider the cubical element composed of cubes as
shown in the figure below. After straining, the smaller
cubes may be so distorted as to form into the array
shown in (b). This condition might represent failure by
rupture. Alternatively deformation might be such that the
various cubes fit together as shown in (c). This condition
represents a compatible deformation.

 Mathematically
If deformations are defined by continuos functions u, v and w in
the x, y and z directions respectively then the strains (assuming
small strain theory) are defined by:
;
It can be shown mathematically that for a compatible
displacement field to exist all the above components of strain
and their derivatives must exist (are bounded) and be continuos
to at least the second order.
So far we have:
Unknowns: 6 stresses + 6 strains + 3 displacements = 15
unknowns
Equations: 3 equilibrium + 6 compatibility = 9 equations

Constitutive Behaviour
This is a description of material behaviour. In simple
terms it is the stress-strain behaviour of the soil. It
usually takes the form of a relationship between stresses
and strains and therefore provides a link between
equilibrium and compatibility. For calculation purporses
the constitutive behaviour has to be expressed
mathematically:

Note
For a linear elastic materials the [D] matrix takes the following form:

Where E and v are the Youngs Modulus and Poissons ratio

respectively.
However because soil usually behaves in a nonlinear manner it is
more realistic for the constitutive equations to relate increments of
stress and strain as indicated above and for the [D] matrix to depend
on the current and past stress history.

The

constitutive behaviour can either be expressed in

terms of total of effective stresses. If specified in terms of
effective stresses then the principle of effective stress
may be invoked to obtain total stresses required for use
with the equilibrium equations:

Where [Du] is a constitutive relationship relating the

change in pore water pressure to the change in strain.
For undrained behaviour the change in pore pressure is
related to the volumetric strain (which is small) via the
bulk compressibility of the pore water (which is large).

IDEALISATIONS
In order to apply the above concepts to a real
geotechnical
problem
certain
assumptions
and
idealisations must be made. In particular it is necessary
to specify soil behaviour in the form of a mathematical
constitutive relationship. It may also be necessary to
simplify and/or idealise the geometry and/or boundary
conditios of the problema.

Plane strain
Due
to the special geometric characteristics of many of the physical
problems treated in soil mechanics, additional simplifications of
considerable magnitude can be effected. Such problems as the
analysis of retaining walls, of continuos footings, and of the stability
of slopes generally offer one dimensin very large in comparision with
the other two. Hence, if the force and/or applied displacement
boundary conditions are perpendicular to, and independent of, this
dimension, all cross sections will be the same. If the z dimension of
the problem is large and it can be assumed that the state of affairs
existing in the xy plane holds for all planes parallel to it, the
displacement of any cross section parallel to any other is zero (w=0),
and the displacement u and v are independent of the z coordinate.
The conditions consistent with these approximations are said to
define the very important case of PLANE STRAIN:

The
constitutive relationship then reduces to:

However for elastic and the majority of material idealistaions currently used to
represent soil behaviour D52 = D51 = D54 = D61 = D62 = D64 = 0 and consequently
changes
It is common to consider only the stresses when performing analysis for plane strain
problems. This is accpetable if D11, D12, D14, D21, D22, D24, D42 and D44 are no
dependent on This condition holds if the soil is assumed to be elastic. It is also true if
the Tresca or Mohr Coulumb failure condition is adopted and it is assumed that the
intermediate stress 2 = z. Such an assumption is usually adopted for the analysis of
geothecnical problems. Is should be noted, however, that these are special cases.

Axi- Simmetry

Some
problems poses rotational symmetry. For example a uniform or

centrally loaded circular footing acting on a homogenous or horizontally

layered foundation has rotational symmetry about a vertical axis
through the centre of the foundation. Cylindrical triaxial samples, single
piles and caissons are other examples where such symmetry may exist.
In this type of problema it is usual to carry out analyses using
cylindrical coordinates r ( radial direction), z (vertical direction) and
direction and displacements in the r and z directions are independent
of and therefore;

Elasticity
The
simplest assumption is to assume that soil behaves as a

linear elastic isotropic material with a Youngs modulus, E, and

Poissons Ratio, v. The [D] matrix then takes the form given
above. In geothecnical engineering we tend not to use the
parameters E and v but prefer to express behaviour in terms of
Shear and Bulk moduli, G an K respectively. It may be noted
that G and K are related to E and v by the following expressions:
G=
The D matrix then takes the following form:

A more severe limmitation of the isotropic linear elastic model is that failure cannot be
simulated. When soil is sheared it tends to follow a nonlinear stress-strain curve as
shown in the figure. The gradient of the curve, in this case equal to the shear
modulus, G, continuosly decreases as the strain increases. A simple way of modelling
this behaviour is by using nonlinear isotropic elasticity in which the moduli K and G
vary as a function of strain level (to be general they should also vary with stress level
as well).

However as elastic materials are conservative all of the work done by external
stresses during an increment of deformation is stored and is recovered on unloading.
This means that if load is applied such that the material strains along the stress-strain
curve in the figure above when it is removed it will retrace the stress strain curve
back to the origin.It is therefore difficult to simulate load-unload loops that are
observed in real soil behaviour. In addition the strain directions at failure are not
modelled correctly by elasticity and the problema of spherical and deviatoric
uncoupling, as outlined above, still exists.

Plasticity
An
is to asume the soil is elasto-plastic. An elasto-plastic constitutive model
requires
improvement
the following essential information (assumptions):
It is assumed that the principal directions of stress and plastic strain increment coincide.
A yield Surface F(which separates purely elastic from elasto-plastic behaviour. In general
the surfaces is a function of the stress state and its size also changes as a function of the
hardenind/softening parameters are functions of the plastic strains the model is known as
strain hardening/softening. If they are a function of the plastic work then the model is
known as work hardenind/softening. If there is no hardening or softening such that the
yield function is not dependent on any hardening/softening parameters the model is
known as ideal plastic.
A relationship between plastic strain increments. This is usually specified in the form of a
plastic potential Surface G() = 0. The plastic strain increment vector is equal to the
gradient of this curve times an unknown scalar .
A hardening/softening law which describes how the parameters, k1, vary with plastic
straining. This enables the scalar to be quantified. If the model is ideal then clearly this
relationship is not required.

Ideal Plasticity
In this case the yield Surface is fixed in stress and does
not change position as loading takes places. If the sress
state remains below the yield surface behaviour is
entirely elastic. If the stress state reaches the yield
surface plastic straining occurs. It is not posible for the
stress state to extend beyond the yield Surface.

Consider
an element of soil acted upon by a two dimensional system

of stresses , Initially the sample is stress free at point O in the above

Figure. is then increased keeping until point a is reached. As the
stress state remains below (inside) the yield Surface behaviour is
entirely elastic. Althought does not change there will be a straing due
to the Poissons ratio effect ( is likely to be negative if 0<v<1/2). will
only be zero if Poissons ratio,v, is zero = 0. is then kept constant and
increased until it reaches the yield Surface at point b. While the
stress remains below the yield Surface behaviour is again elastic and
strain is controlled by the elastic moduli. Once the yield Surface is
reached, point b, it is not posible to increase any further. Plastic
straining occurs. If the stress state is maintined at point b the plastic
strains will keep increasing indefinitely. However the ratio between
and is fixed by the gradient of the yield Surface (equal to the plastic
potential for ideal plasticity) at point b. The element of soil has
failed.

If the element of soil considered above was part of the

soil mass in a boundary value problema, for example
under the edge of a footing, it may be surrounded by soil
that was behaving elastically with stresses below yield. In
such a condition the plastic straining of the element
would be restricted. Only when sufficient elements of soil
had failed so that a collapse mechanism developed could
the strains increase indefenitely.
Strain or Work Hardening Plasticity

In this case the position and/or size of the yield Surface

changes as plastic straining occurs. If the yield Surface
changes size but is always centred about the same
position hardening is often called isotropic hardening.
If on the other hand the yield Surface does not change in
size but changes position in stress space it is called
kinematic hardening. In general hardening can include
components of both isotropic and kinematic hardening.

Again
consider an element of soil acted upon by a two dimensional system
os stresses . Initially the simple is stress free at point o in the above
Figures. is then increased keeping until point a is reached. As the stress
state remains below (inside) the yield Surface soil behaviour is entirely
elastic. As the stress state remains below (inside) the yield Surface soil
behaviour is entirely elastic. Althought does not change there will be a
strain due to the Poissons ratio effect. is then kept constant and increased
until first yield is reached at point b. While the stress remains below the
yield Surface behaviour is again elastic and the strain is controlled by the
elastic moduli. Once the initial yield Surface is reached point b, plastic
straining begins. With further increase in the plastic strains increase and
the yield Surface expands (isotropic hardening) according to the hardening
law. As it is possible to increase then elastic strains will develop
simultaneously with the plstic strains. As loading continues the gradient of
the yield Surface and therefore the ratio of the plastic strain components,
and , is likely to change. Eventually the yield Surface will stop hardening
and failure will occur as for the ideal plasticity case discussed above.

Ifat stage d is removed such that the stress path da followed the stress strain curve will follow the path de. Behaviour will be elastic on initial unloading and will
remain so if the model is of the isotropic hardening type.
After complete unloading there will be a permanent strain
y which is equal to the plastic strain generated during
loading from b to d. If was then increased again
behaviour would remain elastic until the stress state
reached point d at which point elasto-plastic behaviour
would be initiated.

Strain or Work Softening Plasticity

In this case behaviour is similar to that for strain
hardening except that the size of the yield Surface
reduces with increase in plastic straining.

Following

the same loading sequence as described above

for ideal and strain or work hardening plasticity results in
the same behaviour until the initial yield Surface is
encountered at b. Once the initial yield Surface is
encountered plastic straining occurs and the size of the
yield Surface reduces (isotropic softening). It is therefore
not posible for to remain at the value associated with
point b. Any attempt to do so will result in indefinite
plastic strains. If instead of controlling attention is
switched to controlling the strain softening stress strain
curve shown above can be followed. If at some stage
during plastic straining is reduced the soil behaves
elastically. If is then increased again the unloading again
the unloading path (c-d) is retraced until the soil yields

Strain Parameters
Consider and arbitrary stress-strain curve

A
o 1

 Initially
stress is and the strain is .

A stress increment is applied causing a strain increment

The work done per unit volumen by as the body strain is:

1
The strain energy per unite volumen due to the application of
is
2

Equation 1 is used in plasticity

Equation 2 is used in elasticity.

If a body acted in by stresses undergoes increments of

strain then the increment of work done is

 In choosing strain parameters it is important that the

above work equation is satisfied.

Mohrs circle of strain

Diagram showns an arbitrary state of strain

Extension
y

xy/2

/2

III

/2

xy/2

Pole

II

/2xy
II

Compression

III

I
/2xy

IV
I

 Most of the conclusions reached for stress follow directly

for strain.
= +- [(()^2] + (
)/2 +- [)/2)^2 + ( ]^1/2
When volumetric strain.
Planes of mximum shear strain are at 45 to the
principal planes.
In general define as the largest or most positive strain.
Alternatively relate it to the principal stress or change
causing the strain.

Angles of dilation and lines of zero

extensin
Consider an element deforming in plane strain
is negative and > The element is dilating and is
/2
negative.
A
P
III

V
I

90-V
90-V
V

E
B


P is an arbitrary Pole
Points A and B represent conditions of strain for which
there is zero direct strain-only shear strain.
The lines PA and PB are planes normal to which there is
no direct strain i.e. They are normal to lines of zero
extensin given by AE and BE.
The angle OAB and OBA is v
Where sin v = -) / (= Or tan v = -where the shear strain.

 V is the angle of dilation.

It can be shown that lines of zero extensin intersect at
90-v.
They are inclined at (45-v/2) to the direction of the
principle compressive strain