ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the theory of the axisymmetric formulation of Material Point Method and its use demonstrated with the numerical simulation of three problems, namely the loading of a circular shallow foundation, the granular column collapse and the cone penetration test. An analytical solution for circular surface load on an elastic ground is given and then the solution is compared with results of MPM. The granular column collapse is a well-established experiment in the field of granular mechanics. Most numerical simulations are carried with plane strain or 3D models as the experimental results suggest little differences between both configurations. The cone penetration test (CPT) is one of the most used methods for site characterisation because of its simplicity in execution. Gens and Potts described three geotechnical engineering examples which can be expressed by an axisymmetric formulation. These are a pile under torsional load, a pile under vertical load, and hollow cylinder samples subject to torsion.
