An equivalent-additional-stress-based material point method for the deformation of reinforced soil slopes under supergravity

Abstract For a fiber-reinforced soil slope, the constitutive law of the soil-fiber composite is complex, and the failure mechanism for the reinforced slope is not well understood. In the traditional finite-element-method simulations of slope collapse, a large deformation causes problems related to mesh distortion. As a basic calculation framework, the material point method may provide a solution to this problem. Combining the material point method with the concept of the equivalent additional stress expressed in tensor form, an explicit calculation method is developed on the base of the classical iterative method. The conventional triaxial compression tests of the fiber-reinforced soil were simulated using the method. The simulation results were basically consistent with the test results. Numerical simulations of the deformation of fiber-reinforced soil slopes under supergravity using the method were performed. They were compared with laboratory results from centrifugal tests. The main features of the collapse of the reinforced soil slope under supergravity were captured. Modelling the geo-fiber interaction with the equivalent additional stress method proves that the material point method helps in simulating the collapse of reinforced soil slopes.