ABSTRACT
Modeling and computing have become an essential part of analysis and design of engineering systems. This is becoming the case also for ‘geotechnical systems’ such as foundations, earth dams, tunnels, retaining walls and other soil-structure systems. Modeling and computing involve developing a model for the actual system and then solving for response of the system under different set of conditions (i.e. simulation). The essence of this process is to predict the response for a set of external stimuli (i.e. forces), which is performed by mapping related variables (representing both the forces and the system parameters) in the input space within a set of response variables in the output space.
This book focuses on the formulation of mathematical models for some common geotechnical engineering problems. The relevant physical laws and models for the constitutive behavior are introduced. The mathematical schemes for solving the governing equations utilized to develop numerical models are also presented. With reference to the method of solution, three general classes of methods are considered: i) Analytical methods, ii) Semi-analytical methods and iii) Numerical methods. Solution procedures are subsequently implemented into a number of computer programs, which are developed in computing packages of MAPLE and MATLAB.
