Date/Time
Date(s) - 04/21/2025
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Location
Reitz Union, G320
Categories
2025 Ardaman-Wissa Lecture
SOILS AND ROCKS SUBJECTED TO MULTI-PHYSICS
REPETITIVE LOADS -Asymptotic States
J. Carlos Santamarina, Ph.D.
Professor and Clough Chair
Georgia Institute of Technology
Most natural and engineered geosystems experience repetitive loading cycles of various kinds,
including effective stress, fluid pressure, suction, pore fluid chemistry, and thermal cycles. Repetitive
loads can lead to significant accumulations of volumetric strain (towards the terminal void ratio) and
plastic shear strains (shakedown or ratcheting), accelerate transport (of heat, chemical species, and
particles), and alter material properties and system performance. Complementary multi-scale
experiments and simulations provide unique insights into the underlying mechanisms that explain the
observed responses. Geotechnical analyses and designs must consider the influence of multi-physics
repetitive loads on the long-term performance, serviceability, and safety of engineered systems.
While asymptotic trends can be applied to obtain first-order estimates for simple boundary
conditions, complex boundary conditions necessitate numerical simulations, the development of new
constitutive models, and the implementation of hybrid algorithms that avoid standard time-stepping
numerical protocols.