Abstract

Problems in soil-machine interaction (SMI) are ubiquitous on Earth, and they are beginning to play important roles elsewhere as we explore off-world applications. While methods to simulate machines have developed rapidly, methods for predicting the forces and reactions generated through soil contact are underdeveloped and inadequate. General-purpose numerical techniques based on continuum approaches and discrete element methods have advanced to the stage that they can model SMI problems—and indeed they are the leading tools used by industry—but these methods suffer from significant drawbacks, particularly with respect to their prohibitive inefficiency. Considering several fundamental examples, this presentation discusses the formulation and validation of efficient analytical and semi-analytical techniques for predicting forces and deformations in SMI problems using generalised bearing capacity theory. These models are shown to be not only accurate but also capable of providing a level of physical insight that would be difficult if not impossible to achieve using general-purpose numerical techniques.

James (Jim) Hambleton was educated at the University of Minnesota, where he completed three degrees (BCE, MS, and PhD) in Civil Engineering. After several years at the University of Newcastle, Australia, he became a faculty member in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA . Upon relocating to England in late 2023 with his family, he is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering and a Fellow at Gonville and Caius College at the University of Cambridge.