Example-2

Title
Spherical Cavity in an Infinite Elastic Medium

Description
Stresses and displacements are determined for the case of a spherical cavity in an infinite elastic medium subjected to isotropic in-situ stresses. This provides a rigorous test of the axisymmetry logic in GTS. The cavity has a radius of 1 m. The in-situ stress state is -30 MPa (tension positive).

Spherical hole Soil

Fig. 2.1 Spherical cavity problem

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Analytical Solution
The radial displacement around a spherical cavity in an infinite elastic body under an isotropic stress field is given by Goodman (1980, p.220).
ur Po a 3 4r 2 G

where Po is the external pressure, a is the spherical hole radius, and G is the shear modulus of the body. Timoshenko and Goodier (1970, p.395) provide a solution for the stress field in a hollow spherical container subjected to internal and external pressure:
Po b3 r 3 a 3 r 3 a 3 b3
3 Pa b3 r 3 i

r 3 a 3 b3

Po b3 2r 3 a 3 2r 3 a 3 b 3

3 Pa 2r 3 b 3 i

2r 3 a 3 b 3

where Pi is the internal pressure, and b is the outside radius of the container. The solution to the problem of a spherical cavity in an infinite medium is determined by setting Pi 0 and finding the limit as b approaches infinity. Normalizing by the in-situ stress value ( Po ), the final solution is:

r
Po

r 3 a3 r3 a 3 2r 3 2r 3

Po

Example-2

GTS MODEL
Fig. 2.2 shows the model used for the analysis. The model mesh is identical to that used for the model of the spherical hole in Example-1. The mesh is shown in Fig. 2.2.
Y

P0

P0

X 1m 10m

Fig. 2.2 Geometry and mesh spherical cavity

3

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Analysis Type Unit System

2D axisymmetric elastic analysis m, N Width 10.0 m 10.0 m 1.0 m

E = 697.2 MPa

Dimension

Height Hole radius

Element Material Boundary Condition Load Case

4-node quadrilateral axisymmetric element Modulus of elasticity Poissons ratio Left end Bottom end

= 0.2021
Constrain DX Constrain Dy

Initial isotropic in-situ compressive stress of -30 MPa. Edge pressure of 30 MPa at right and top ends.

Example-2

Results
Fig. 2.3 and 2.4 show a direct comparison between GTS and the analytical solution for radial and tangential stresses and radial displacements respectively. The plots compare normalized stresses, r Po and Po , and normalized displacement, ur r , versus normalized radius r a .

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(a) Contour of stress along X-direction

18 16 14 12

Stress (MPa)

10 8 6 4 2 0 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5

Analytical(radial) Analytical(tangential) GTS(radial) GTS(tangential)

Position from the center of hole (m)

(b) Graph of radial and tangential stress Fig. 2.3 Stress comparison spherical cavity

Example-2

(a) Contour of displacement magnitude

30

25

Analytical GTS (model 1)

Radial Displacement (mm)

20

15

10

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Position from the center of hole (m)

(b) Graph of radial displacement Fig. 2.4 Radial displacement comparison spherical cavity

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Comparison of Results
The values and errors at inner and outer boundaries are tabulated below for radial and tangential stress and radial displacement, respectively. As these tables show, the error in stresses is less than 1.33%, and the error in displacement is 0.17%.

Tangential and radial stresses Unit : MPa Analytical inner Tangential stress Radial stress Radial displacement Unit : mm Analytical Radial displacement 25.86 GTS Value 25.82 Ratio (%) 0.17 1.50 0.00 outer 1.00 1.00 Value 1.52 0.10 inner Ratio (%) 1.33 N/A GTS Value 1.00 1.00 outer Ratio (%) 0.16 0.01

References
Goodman, R. E., Introduction to Rock Mechanics, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1980. Timoshenko, S. P., and Goodier, J. N., Theory of Elasticity, McGraw Hill, New York, 1970.