Stresses within the soil caused by a point load (Boussinesq Solution) Abaqus

Project Overview

This tutorial focuses on the simulation of the stress increase within soil caused by a point load using Abaqus software. This example is based on Example 3.4 from the Sam Helwany book.

A vertical point load is applied to the top surface of the soil, and the resulting increase in stress within the soil is obtained from the Abaqus analysis. The numerical results are then compared with the corresponding values calculated using the Boussinesq solution.

Model Description

The soil is modeled as a cylindrical domain with a radius of 1 m and a height of 2 m.

A vertical point load is applied to the top surface of the soil. The resulting stress distribution within the soil is then investigated.

Soil Properties

The soil is assumed to behave as a linear elastic material. The material properties used in the Abaqus model are defined according to the reference example.

The Young's modulus of the soil is 1 × 10⁷ kPa, while the Poisson's ratio is 0.3.

Point Load

A vertical point load of 10 kN is applied to the top surface of the soil.

The applied load produces an increase in stress within the soil mass. The stress distribution resulting from the point load is obtained from the Abaqus analysis.

Increase of Stress Within the Soil

The main objective of this analysis is to determine the increase in stress within the soil caused by the applied point load.

The stress distribution obtained from Abaqus is extracted from the numerical model and used for comparison with the theoretical solution.

Boussinesq Solution

The theoretical increase in stress caused by the point load is calculated using the Boussinesq solution.

The Boussinesq solution provides a theoretical reference for evaluating the stress increase obtained from the Abaqus model.

Comparison of Results

The results obtained from Abaqus are compared with the results presented in the Sam Helwany book based on the Boussinesq solution.

This comparison is used to evaluate the accuracy of the numerical model and to verify that Abaqus can reproduce the stress increase caused by a vertical point load.

What You Will Learn

• How to model a three-dimensional cylindrical soil domain in Abaqus.
• How to define linear elastic soil properties.
• How to apply a vertical point load to the soil.
• How to apply a 10 kN point load.
• How to investigate the increase in stress within the soil.
• How to extract stress results from the Abaqus model.
• How to use the Boussinesq solution as a theoretical reference.
• How to compare Abaqus results with theoretical results.
• How to verify a geotechnical Abaqus model using a classical solution.

Key Features

• Three-dimensional cylindrical soil model.
• 1 m soil radius.
• 2 m soil height.
• 10 kN vertical point load.
• Linear elastic soil behavior.
• Young's modulus of 1 × 10⁷ kPa.
• Poisson's ratio of 0.3.
• Stress increase within the soil.
• Boussinesq theoretical solution.
• Comparison with Sam Helwany Example 3.4.
• Free Abaqus tutorial.