Studying Hydraulic Failure in Excavations Using Two-phase Material Point Method

The head difference between the inside and outside of an excavation leads to seepage flow into the excavation. High seepage velocities lead to high seepage pressures that decrease the effective stresses. In extreme cases, the soil fluidizes and cannot sustain the seepage forces, which causes the soil-water mixture to flow into the excavation site.The problem of hydraulic failure is simulated using the Material Point Method (MPM). The ability of MPM to simulate this phenomenon is shown and some concluding remarks are presented.