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A new approach is proposed to model a crack in orthotropic composite media using the extended finite element method (XFEM). The XFEM uses the concept of partition of unity in addition to meshless basic idea of approximating a field variable by its values at a set of surrounding nodes. As a result, higher order approximations can be designed with the same total number of degrees of freedom. In this procedure, by using meshless based ideas, elements containing a crack are not required to conform to crack edges. Therefore mesh generating is performed without any consideration of crack conformations for elements and the method has the ability of extending the crack without any remeshing. Furthermore, the type of elements around the cracktip is the same as other parts of the finite element model and the number of nodes and consequently degrees of freedom are reduced considerably in comparison to the classical finite element method. Developed orthotropic enrichment functions are further modified to enable modeling isotropic problems.

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Lateral earth pressure on retaining walls is a widely researched classical problem in geotechnical engineering. This study investigates the active lateral earth pressure on a circular retaining wall using the stress characteristics method in the presence of soil-wall adhesion and friction. A computer code was developed for determining the lateral pressure of soil on the wall as well as the lateral pressure coefficients upon receiving the required input parameters. The principle of superposition was implemented to determine the lateral earth pressure coefficients. The effects of the soil-wall adhesion and friction angle on the lateral earth pressure were studied under active conditions. Moreover, the effects of these parameters on the characteristics network and failure region were demonstrated. The results showed that the coefficient of lateral earth pressure due to cohesion increased with increasing adhesion at the soil-wall boundary.

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This paper tried to analyze the behavior of a typical bridge and the effect of its skew degree on its behavior to near-field earthquakes. To this end, the seismic behavior of a number of typical bridges with same spans and different skew degrees was studied under near-field and far-field earthquakes. Non-linear static analyses (pushover analyses) were performed to determine the performance parameters of the bridge in each model. Non-linear time history dynamic analyses were also performed on the models to analyze the dynamic behavior and deformations of bridge components under near-field and far-field earthquakes. The responses of models, such as their displacement, base shear, and axial forces of columns to earthquakes under study are presented in the following sections. Results indicated that the base shear and displacement of the superstructure in near-field earthquakes without velocity pulse and far-field earthquakes are about or less than the corresponding values of the bridge performance point. Moreover, in the case of near-field earthquakes with velocity pulses the values of these parameters showed an increase. It was also revealed that an increase in the skew degree of the bridge led to an increase in the axial forces in columns and transverse displacement of the bridge.