The adoption of Eurocode 7, which becomes mandatory in Europe in 2010, will mark a significant change in the way ultimate limit state analysis is performed. By treating parameter uncertainty more rigorously, leading to partial factors which are independent of problem type, Eurocode 7 provides the engineer with a robust and flexible limit state design methodology.

The move to Eurocode 7 also coincides with the availability to geotechnical engineers of a powerful new class of computational analysis technique, Discontinuity Layout Optimization (DLO) which now allow the engineer to directly and straightforwardly determine the collapse (or ultimate limit) state for any geotechnical problem geometry without having to resort to conventional incremental methods, such as Non-Linear Finite Element Analysis (NLFEA). The technique, which was recently developed by the presenters at the University of Sheffield, is now incorporated within LimitState:GEO (see: www.limitstate.com/geo), an easy to use and generally available commercial software application. LimitState:GEO will be used throughout the seminar to illustrate a range of analysis and design cases.

The seminars will cover:

• Key principles of ULS design to Eurocode 7.
• Practical use of computational limit analysis (DLO) to model a wide range of geotechnical stability problems.
• Integration of computational limit analysis with Eurocode 7. The fact that the Eurocode partial factors are independent of problem type means that Eurocode 7 is ideally suited for use with generic limit analysis solvers.

Collapse mechanisms for a wide variety of geotechnical stability problems will be used to emphasize the points being made. The broad applicability of computational limit analysis will be illustrated through practical examples, including bearing capacity, slope stability, retaining structures and reinforced soils, together with applications involving soil mechanics, rock mechanics, and seismic loading.

Benefits

• Be aware of the differences between rigorous limit analysis approaches and related approaches (e.g. based on limit equilibrium).
• Be aware of how ULS analysis is performed with existing design codes, and the changes in philosophy Eurocode 7 brings.
• Gain an appreciation of how an ULS design of a geotechnical structure is undertaken to Eurocode 7.
• Gain an appreciation of how generic ULS problems can be formulated and analysed using numerical limit analysis methods (including the new DLO procedure) and integrated with Eurocode 7 design prinicples.
• Be aware of the approximations present in commonly utilized limit analysis formulae, and common mistakes encountered when applying ULS analysis methods.

Who should attend

Seminar tutors