Coupled Flow Modelling in Geotechnical and Ground Engineering: An Overview

Particulate flows of combined granular media and fluids are relevant to several natural phenomena as well as industrial applications. In geotechnical engineering, the existing modelling approaches mainly adopt a macroscopic-based continuum analysis which does not provide access to important information on the fluid flow interaction with granular media at the particle scale. Alternatively, particulate modelling can be a powerful tool in understanding the complex micro-mechanics of different phenomena such as landslide, debris flow and internal erosion. However, it is challenging to employ the existing particulate flow models on a scale that practically serves the design and risk assessment for earth structures. With rapid advances in computational power, particulate flow modelling can provide valuable insights on both the micro as well as the macro-scale levels. This paper reviews the different approaches of particulate flow modelling from a multidisciplinary perspective with emphasis on geotechnical applications. In addition, this study presents a summary of the available techniques for reducing the computational cost and highlights the outstanding challenges of particulate flow modelling in geotechnical engineering. This work should provide guidance to geotechnical engineers and researches to determine the appropriate modelling tool to approach particulate flow modelling and identify the major challenges associated with each approach.