Homogenization of geomaterials containing voids by random fields and finite elements

The paper describes the use of random fields and finite elements to assess the influence of porosity and void size on the effective elastic stiffness of geomaterials. A finite element model is developed involving “tied freedoms” that allows analysis of an ideal block of materials leading to direct evaluation of the effective Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio. The influence of block size and representative volume elements (RVE) are discussed. The use of random fields and Monte-Carlo simulations deliver a mean and standard deviation of the elastic parameters that lead naturally to a probabilistic interpretation. The methodology is extended to a foundation problem involving a footing on an elastic foundation containing voids. The approach enables estimates to be made of the probability of excessive settlement.