Composite Infinite Element for Modeling Unbounded Saturated‐soil Media

Abstract

This paper discusses the development of a mapped‐type compositeinfinite element for modeling the response of unbounded saturated‐soil media. The coordinate ascent mapping technique that uses conventional shape functions and the Gauss‐Legendre integration scheme is used for the formulation. The constructed element preserves the compatibility between the variations in effective stress and pore pressure. This compatibility is a basic requirement for the accurate numerical modeling of saturated media. The accuracy of the element has been evaluated by comparing the numerical solutions of problems involving unbounded media with the corresponding analytical solutions. The effects of both the remoteness of the truncated boundary and the location of the infinite element coupling to the finite elements on the solution accuracy has been investigated. It is observed that accurate numerical responses of unbounded media can be obtained by using infinite elements at a much lesser computational effort than the conventional finite‐element methods in which unbounded media are represented by large mesh configurations.