MODELLING FLUIDISATION AND SEDIMENTATION USING MATERIAL POINT METHOD

Fluidisation and sedimentation processes occur in the contact zone between soil and free water where a transition between free water and soil skeleton occurs. In order to numerically model these phenomena the material point method (MPM) is used. In this study, a formulation of the material point method is exploited, which uses two sets of material points for soil and water respectively. In such way, not only the soil water interaction can be described, such as the accumulation and dissipation of excess pore pressures, but also the transition from free water to groundwater as well as fluid -like behaviour of soil typical for fluidisation and sedimentation problems can be simulated. In this paper, examples of a collapsing submerged sand column arc presented.