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Tension Crack Development in Soils

1988; American Society of Civil Engineers; Volume: 114; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1061/(asce)0733-9410(1988)114

1944-8368

Fook Hou Lee, K W Lo, Seng‐Lip Lee,

Geotechnical Engineering and Analysis

A model is proposed for finite‐element modeling of tension crack propagation in soils. The essential features of this model are the splitting of a single node into two distinct nodes in the wake of an advancing crack tip to replicate separation of material on either side of the crack, and the use of a fracture mechanics criterion to predict crack propagation. The material parameter employed in this criterion, the critical energy release rate, is determined experimentally and shown to be reasonably constant over a range of crack lengths, thereby supporting the adoption of this parameter as a material constant for tension cracking in soils. The model is then applied to two classes of problems in which tension cracking is known to exercise significant influence, a stiff embankment on soft soil and an excavated slope. For both problems, stable and reasonable solutions are obtained, suggesting that fracture mechanics offers a feasible approach to the analysis of tension cracking in soils.