Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian based finite element analysis of cone penetration in soft clay

This paper presents a numerical model for the analysis of cone penetration in soft clay based on the finite element method. The constitutive behaviour of the soil is modelled by modifying an elastic, perfectly-plastic soil model obeying Von-Mises yield criterion to take into account the strain-softening, rate dependent behaviour of soft clay. Since this is a problem involving large soil deformations, the analysis is carried out using an Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian method where the quality of the mesh is preserved during penetration. The variation of cone resistance is examined with various parameters such as rigidity index of the soil, in situ stress anisotropy and roughness at the cone–soil interface, which influence the penetration resistance of the cone. A theoretical correlation has been developed incorporating these parameters and the results have been compared with previous correlations based on the cavity expansion theory, finite element method and strain path method. With the increase in strain-softening, relative brittleness of the soil increases and the penetration resistance is significantly reduced. With the rising strain-rate dependency, penetration resistance increases but this increase is independent of the degree of brittleness of the soil.