Simulating excavation of soil Abaqus

Project Overview

In this Abaqus tutorial, the excavation of soil is simulated after the construction and consolidation of an embankment.

First, the embankment is constructed in three layers. After the embankment has been constructed, a 200-day consolidation period is considered before the excavation process begins.

Numerical model used for simulating soil excavation in Abaqus.

Embankment Construction

The embankment is constructed in three stages. Each stage represents the construction of one embankment layer.

After all three embankment layers have been constructed, the model is allowed to undergo consolidation for 200 days.

Excavation Process

After the 200-day consolidation period, the excavation operation begins. The soil is removed in three consecutive stages.

In each excavation stage, a soil layer with a thickness of 0.3 m is removed. Therefore, the total excavation depth is 0.9 m.

Analysis Steps

The complete analysis consists of nine steps. These steps are used to simulate the initial soil equilibrium, embankment construction, consolidation, excavation, and the final consolidation period.

• Step 1: Establishing equilibrium in the soil layer
• Step 2: Construction of the first embankment layer
• Step 3: Construction of the second embankment layer
• Step 4: Construction of the third embankment layer
• Step 5: Consolidation for 200 days
• Step 6: Excavation of the first soil layer
• Step 7: Excavation of the second soil layer
• Step 8: Excavation of the third soil layer
• Step 9: Consolidation for one year

The nine analysis steps used in the simulation.

Sequential Excavation

The excavation is performed sequentially by removing one soil layer at a time. This approach allows the response of the soil to be investigated as the excavation depth gradually increases.

The three excavation stages remove a total soil depth of 0.9 m.

Three-stage excavation with a total depth of 0.9 m.

Final Consolidation

After the completion of the excavation process, a final consolidation step is performed for a period of one year.

This step allows the soil to respond to the changes caused by the excavation and reach a new consolidation state.

What You Will Learn

• How to simulate soil excavation in Abaqus.
• How to construct an embankment sequentially.
• How to divide an embankment into multiple construction layers.
• How to establish the initial equilibrium of the soil.
• How to define a consolidation step.
• How to simulate 200 days of consolidation before excavation.
• How to remove soil layers sequentially.
• How to simulate excavation in multiple analysis steps.
• How to excavate a total depth of 0.9 m.
• How to simulate one year of consolidation after excavation.
• How to manage sequential construction and excavation in Abaqus.

Key Features

• Sequential embankment construction.
• Three embankment construction stages.
• 200-day consolidation period before excavation.
• Three-stage soil excavation.
• Excavation thickness of 0.3 m per stage.
• Total excavation depth of 0.9 m.
• One-year final consolidation period.
• Nine analysis steps.
• Sequential construction and excavation procedure.
• CAE file.
• INP file.