A probabilistic method based on principle of maximum entropy was employed to analyze the randomness of contact force between geomembrane and granular material.The contact force distribution is exponential according to the proposed method and the grain size is the most important factor that affects the distribution of contact force.The proposed method is then verified by a series of laboratory experiments using glass beads and cobbles as granular material and a very thin pressure,indicating that film is firstly used in these experiments which give a reliable method to measure the contact force at each contact point.
A simplified probabilistic analysis of geomembrane punctures from granular material was presented when subjected to liquid pressure.The probability distribution of contact force between geomembrane and granular material was obtained based on the principle of equal probability and assumptions that grains are spheres with constant size.A particle flow code PFC3Dwas employed to simulate the contact process which indicates a good agreement with the theoretical probabilistic analysis.The odds of geomembrane puncture from grains of constant size were obtained by evaluating the puncture force which should not exceed the puncture resistance of geomembrane.The effects of grain radius,grain rigidity and liquid pressure were studied in more detail and displayed in graphs.Both high-level of liquid pressure and large grain can result in high risk of geomembrane puncture.The influence of grain rigidity on the geomembrane puncture odds is significant.For granular material with a grain size distribution,the geomembrane puncture odds can be estimated by the grain size distribution,served as weight function and it is a cautious design if the largest grain is chosen as the design grain size.
Due to the complexity of soil-structure interaction, simple constitutive models typically used for interface elements in general computer programs cannot satisfy the requirements of discontinuous deformation analysis of structures that contain different interfaces. In order to simulate the strain-softening characteristics of interfaces, a nonlinear strain-softening interface constitutive model was incorporated into fast Lagrange analysis of continua in three dimensions （FLAC3D） through a user-defined program in the FISH environment. A numerical simulation of a direct shear test for geosynthetic interfaces was conducted to verify that the interface model was implemented correctly. Results of the numerical tests show good agreement with the results obtained from theoretical calculations, indicating that the model incorporated into FLAC3D can simulate the nonlinear strain-softening behavior of interfaces involving geosynthetic materials. The results confirmed the validity and reliability of the improved interface model. The procedure and method of implementing an interface constitutive model into a commercial computer program also provide a reference for implementation of a new interface constitutive model in FLAC3D.
