Numerische Simulation von Drucksondierungen mithilfe der Particle Finite Element Method

Numerical simulation of cone penetration testing using the Particle Finite Element Method. In-situ investigation methods, such as piezocone penetration testing, are increasingly used for site characterization due to their proven effectiveness, cost-, and time-efficiency. Further development of interpretation methods is subject of ongoing research activities, considering influencing factors such as partial drainage during test execution or microstructural bonding of the soil skeleton. In this paper, the two effects are investigated based on numerical simulations of piezocone penetration using the application G-PFEM, which takes into account large deformations, soil-structure interaction, and nonlinear constitutive behaviour. The results highlight the influence of partial drainage and microstructure on the measured tip resistance and pore water pressures, whereas different trends were observed. Furthermore, an in-situ test conducted in postglacial, fine-grained sediments was successfully recalculated, suggesting a possible approach to calibrate nonlinear constitutive models, which are commonly used for numerical analysis of geotechnical boundary value problems.