Abstract

The Finite Element (FE) analysis of geotechnical structures subjected to seismic loading is essentially a problem of modelling wave propagation. Therefore, it requires careful consideration of the spatial discretization and the boundary conditions of the computational domain as well as of the time-marching solution algorithm. In addition, in a similar fashion to static FE analysis, the accuracy of the numerical predictions depends largely on the employed constitutive relationship, describing the soils’ behaviour. The first part of the seminar will summarise recent developments in terms of dynamic boundary conditions and spatial discretization techniques, demonstrating their impact on the numerical predictions. The second part of the seminar will focus on the effects of the choice of the constitutive model on the numerical predictions. Constitutive models of varying sophistication (ranging from equivalent linear to kinematic hardening models) will be used for the analysis of a tunnel and a complex retaining system, highlighting the relative merits of the considered approaches.