One-Dimensional Elastic Consolidation

Outline

1 Description
2 Finite Element Model
2.1 Geometry
2.2 Properties
2.3 Boundary Conditions
2.4 Loads
2.5 Mesh
3 Nonlinear Transient Analysis
3.1 Commands
3.2 Results
Appendix A Additional Information

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1 Description
In the oedometer for confined compression test, a sample of porous material saturated with fluid rests on a porous filter in an impervious chamber [Fig. 1]. At the start of the test a force load
F is applied in a very short time through an impervious piston above the sample. We assume that there is no friction between the chamber and the sample and that both the solid and the
fluid components are nearly incompressible. Therefore, the sample will deform mainly by expelling fluid through the filter. At the filter side we consider a zero pressure constraint for the fluid.
The solid material of the solid is assumed to be linear elastic and weightless, with a constant permeability. Initially the load will be balanced by the fluid pressure only, with a steep pressure
gradient at the filter side. This gradient initiates fluid flow, thus allowing gradual deformation. The deformation leads to increasing effective stress and decreasing fluid pressure. Ultimately,
the load will be balanced by the solid material only.
The analytical solution for the piston settlement by this one-dimensional consolidation was found by Terzaghi1 . In this example we perform a mixture analysis for a load F causing a unit
distributed force in a 1 × 1 m cylindrical sample with drained Young’s modulus ED = 1000 Pa, Poisson’s ratio ν = 0, modified permeability k = 0.001 m2 /(Pa . s), porosity n = 0.55 and
compression moduli Ks = 6666.67 Pa for solid and Kf = 100000 Pa for fluid.

Figure 1: Confined compression test

1
Terzaghi, Theoretial Soil Mechanics, 1943

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2 Finite Element Model
We start a new project for an axial symmetric structural analysis with mixture flow-stress option. We use quadratic mesh order. The model size is set to 10 m (-5 to 5 m) to include
the entire model. We choose meter for the unit length, ton for mass and degree for angle. The units and the directions are displayed in the Reference system section of the Geometry
browser [Fig. 3] [Fig. 4].
DianaIE

Main menu File New [Fig. 2]

Geometry browser Reference system Units [Fig. 3]
Property Panel [Fig. 4]

Figure 2: New project dialog Figure 3: Geometry browser - units Figure 4: Properties panel - units

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2.1 Geometry
We create the axial symmetric sample with the name Soil by defining a line in Y direction with length 1 m and extruding it in X direction in 0.5 m.

DianaIE

Main menu Geometry Create Add line [Fig. 5]

Main menu Geometry Modify Extrude [Fig. 6]

Figure 5: Add line Figure 6: Extrude line to face

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2.2 Properties

We use regular solid ring elements and linear elastic material with parameters E = 1000 kN/m2 , ν = 0 , ρ = 2 T/m3 , n = 0.55. We include the mixture flow-stress aspect with the following
parameters: k = 0.001 m3 s/T and the bulk-stiffness Ks = 6666.67 kN/m3 and Kf = 1e5 kN/m3 .

DianaIE

Main menu Geometry Assign Properties [Fig. 7]

Properties Material Add material [Fig. 8] Edit material [Fig. 9] [Fig. 10]

Figure 7: Property assignments Figure 8: Add material Figure 9: Edit material Figure 10: Edit material

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2.3 Boundary Conditions
We define the following boundary conditions to the edges of the sample: i) support displacements in X direction at the edge in the right-hand side, support displacements in Y direction at
the bottom edge and iii) support pore-pressure potentials at the bottom edge.
DianaIE

Main menu Geometry Assign Supports [Fig. 11] – [Fig. 13]

Figure 11: Supports in X direction Figure 12: Supports in Y direction Figure 13: Pore-pressure potential supports

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We define one tying from with the left top vertex as master and the top edge as slave for the vertical displacements.
DianaIE

Main menu Geometry Assign Tyings [Fig. 14]

Figure 14: Tyings at top edge

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2.4 Loads
We define a nodal force in the vertical direction at the top left vertex, equivalent to a unit force applied to the top surface of the cylinder (A = 0.5×0.5×π). We define a time curve for that
load.
DianaIE

Main menu Geometry Assign Loads [Fig. 15]

Geometry browser Loads Cases Impact load Edit time dependency [Fig. 16] [Fig. 17]

Figure 15: Attach load Figure 16: Geometry browser - loads Figure 17: Edit time dependent factors

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2.5 Mesh
We define a gradual mesh seeding from 0.01 m to 0.1 m at the axis of symmetry.
DianaIE

Main menu Geometry Assign Mesh properties [Fig. 18] [Fig. 19]

Figure 18: Input for gradual mesh seeding Figure 19: Left edge for gradual mesh seeding

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We set the number of divisions equal to 1 at the top and bottom edges.

DianaIE

Main menu Geometry Assign Mesh properties [Fig. 20] [Fig. 21]

Figure 20: Input for unit mesh seeding Figure 21: Top and bottom edges for unit mesh seeding

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We create the mesh.
DianaIE

Main menu Geometry Generate mesh [Fig. 22]

Figure 22: Mesh

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3 Nonlinear Transient Analysis
3.1 Commands
We define a nonlinear analysis with name Consolidation. We activate the transient nonlinear effect with Euler backward scheme.
DianaIE

Main menu Analysis Add analysis

Analysis browser Analysis1 Rename ”Consolidation”

Analysis browser Nonlinear Add command Structural nonlinear [Fig. 23]
Analysis browser Nonlinear Structural nonlinear Nonlinear effects Edit properties [Fig. 24] [Fig. 25]

Figure 23: Analysis browser Figure 24: Nonlinear properties Figure 25: Transient settings

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We remove the default load steps execute block and define a new time steps execute block and rename this as Time stepping. We define the time-steps as: 0, 0.01, 0.015, 0.025, 0.05(38).

DianaIE

Analysis browser Nonlinear Structural nonlinear new execute block Remove [Fig. 26]
Analysis browser Nonlinear Structural nonlinear Add... Execute steps - Time steps [Fig. 27]

Figure 26: Analysis browser Figure 27: Time steps

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For the output we choose the user selection mode for the following result items: total translational displacements, total pore-pressure potential degrees of freedom (displacements), effective
Cauchy stresses, total Cauchy stresses and total pore-pressures. We run the analysis.
DianaIE

Analysis browser Nonlinear Structural nonlinear Output Edit properties [Fig. 28] [Fig. 29]
Main menu Analysis Run selected analysis

Figure 28: Analysis browser Figure 29: Output properties

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3.2 Results
We switch off the deformed shape representation. We define a probing curve along the right-hand edge, with the diagram oriented in the global X direction with a scale factor of 5 and 50
intervals between points.
For the contour plots, we set the color scale limits to specified values and define minimum value of -1 and maximum value of 0 for stress results and minimum value of 0 and maximum value
of 1 for pore-pressure results. We can also change the bounding colors, if needed.
DianaIE

Main menu Results Normalized deformed results

Show view settings

Property Panel Result Probing curve settings [Fig. 30] Property Panel Result Contour plot settings [Fig. 31] [Fig. 32]

Figure 32: Result properties - contour plot for

Figure 30: Result properties - probing curve Figure 31: Result properties - contour plot for stress pore-pressure

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In the beginning, the sample is not loaded and thus pore-pressure and effective vertical stresses are zero.
DianaIE

Results browser Consolidation Output Element results Cauchy Effective Stresses SEYY [Fig. 33]
Results browser Consolidation Output Element results Pore pressure PRpo [Fig. 34]

Figure 33: Vertical effective stress at start Figure 34: Pore-pressure at start

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Immediately after loading (time step 2 at time = 0.1 s) the fluid carries most of the load applied to the sample. The bottom edge where the fluid flows out we can observe a strong gradient
until zero. This is the area where the effective stresses are increasing.
DianaIE

Results browser Consolidation Output Element results Cauchy Effective Stresses SEYY [Fig. 35]
Results browser Consolidation Output Element results Pore pressure PRpo [Fig. 36]

Figure 35: Vertical effective stress just after start Figure 36: Pore-pressure just after start

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After 0.55 s (time step 5) the pore-pressure and effective stresses present similar values in the full domain.

DianaIE

Results browser Consolidation Output Element results Cauchy Effective Stresses SEYY [Fig. 37]
Results browser Consolidation Output Element results Pore pressure PRpo [Fig. 38]

Figure 37: Vertical effective stress at 0.55 s Figure 38: Pore-pressure at 0.55 s

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After 19 s (time step 42) the pore-pressures are again reduced to almost zero in the entire sample and the force is carried by the effective stresses.

DianaIE

Results browser Consolidation Output Element results Cauchy Effective Stresses SEYY [Fig. 39]
Results browser Consolidation Output Element results Pore pressure PRpo [Fig. 40]

Figure 39: Vertical effective at the end of the analysis Figure 40: Pore-pressure at the end of the analysis

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Figure 41 show the graph of vertical displacement versus time for the right upper node. We can observe that within 2 to 4 s the sample compacts 1 mm, which matches its undrained loading
condition.
DianaIE

Results browser Consolidation Output Nodal results Displacements TDtY Show table [Fig. 41]

Figure 41: Vertical displacement vs. time

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Appendix A Additional Information

Folder: Tutorials/ElasticConsolidation

Number of elements ≈ 14

Keywords:
analys: flowst mixtur nonlin physic transi.
constr: suppor tying.
elemen: axisym cq16a.
load: force node time.
materi: elasti isotro permea porosi.
option: backwa direct newton nonsym regula units.
post: binary ndiana.
pre: dianai.
result: cauchy displa effect pressu stress total.

References:

[1] K.V. Terzaghi. Theoretial soil mechanics. Technical report, John Wiley & Sons, 1943.

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DIANA FEA BV does not accept any responsibility regarding the presented cases, used parameters, and presented results.