No abstract

The macroscopic response of geomaterials is controlled by the processes occurring at the microscale. Understanding these processes is key to interpret experimental data, understand fundamental modes of stress-strain behaviour, inform 'continuum' macroscopic constitutive models, and develop quantitative predictive tools based on Discrete Element Method (DEM) approaches. Unlike granular materials, mechanisms at the particle scale controlling macro-mechanical behaviour of clays are still largely ignored. This paper presents an analysis of elementary mechanisms of clay particle interactions with the aim of gaining an insight into behaviour of clay and advance the process of defining suitable contact laws to be implemented into DEM formulations.

Energy foundation technology is expected to make a significant contribution to the use of renewable energy. In this context, this paper presents the use of Finite Element simulation using PLAXIS software for modelling different benchmark applications in Geothermal Foundations. An implicit fully-coupled numerical scheme with global adaptive time stepping are implemented to ensure computational efficiency and stability. Firstly, a transient simulation of thermal response tests [1], often used to estimate the thermal conductivity of ground and thermal resistance of pile, is presented. In the second part, a Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical analysis is performed to simulate the behavior of a single heat pile subject to a thermal load cycle [2]. Several ingredients (constitutive behavior, interface finite elements etc.) are employed to simulate soil-structure interactions. The obtained solutions are validated against available simulation and experimental data to demonstrate the applicability of the simulator to energy foundation analysis and design.