Computational geomechanics: the heritage of Olek Zienkiewicz

Geotechnical engineering design is based on mathematical, constitutive and numerical models implemented in computer codes which are able to predict the behaviour of geostructures and foundations under a wide variety of loading conditions, sometimes demanding or extreme. Prediction is fundamental in areas such as seismic engineering, marine foundations or landslide hazard analysis. No computer code is better than the mathematical, constitutive and numerical models which it implements. This paper is devoted to (i) reviewing the decisive contributions of Professor Olek Zienkiewicz to the development of mathematical, constitutive and numerical models in geotechnical engineering and (ii) presenting some extensions based on his work which have been proposed by the authors. The extensions to be described here are the following: (i) a particularization of the u − p_rmw Zienkiewicz model to the case of fast catastrophic landslides (ii) an extension of the generalized plasticity model proposed by him and (iii) an SPH numerical model for the propagation of fast catastrophic landslides.