Chances and frontiers of numerical methods in geotechnics
The use of numerical methods has become common practice in geotechnical engineering to solve complex tasks, with the finite element method (FEM) having gained the greatest importance. The article wants to inform about the possibilities and limits of numerical methods in geotechnics and to help in reducing any remaining reservations against the application of numerical methods in geotechnics. Following an overview of the manifold fields of application of numerical methods, special features of modelling in geotechnics are explained. These are, among other things, the necessary abstractions of the real building ground in a numerical model, the size of the calculation area or the consideration of the soil‐structure interaction. The special importance of material modelling of soil and rock is discussed in detail and an overview of the current developments of constitutive models and their parameter determination is given. FEM is currently also increasingly used for the design of geotechnical structures. The principles for design in geotechnical engineering using numerical methods, which are discussed in the context of current standardisation initiatives, are described and evaluated. Aspects related to Building Information Modeling (BIM) are also examined. Finally, the necessity of specialized userś qualification in order to apply the numerical methods purposefully and safely is pointed out.