Computational Multiphase Geomechanics

Book excerpt: Numerical methods are very powerful tools for use in geotechnical engineering, particularly in computational geotechnics. Interest is strong in the new field of multi-phase nature of geomaterials, and the area of computational geotechnics is expanding. Alongside their companion volume Computational Modeling of Multiphase Geomaterials (CRC Press, 2012), Fusao Oka and Sayuri Kimoto cover recent progress in several key areas, such as air-water-soil mixture, cyclic constitutive models, anisotropic models, noncoaxial models, gradient models, compaction bands (a form of volumetric strain localization and strain localization under dynamic conditions), and the instability of unsaturated soils. The text also includes applications of computational modeling to large-scale excavation of ground, liquefaction analysis of levees during earthquakes, methane hydrate development, and the characteristics of contamination using bentonite. The erosion of embankments due to seepage flow is also presented.