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A stable poro-mechanical formulation for Material Point Methods leveraging overlapping meshes and multi-field ghost penalisation (2025)
Journal Article
Pretti, G., Bird, R., Gavin, N., Coombs, W., & Augarde, C. (2025). A stable poro-mechanical formulation for Material Point Methods leveraging overlapping meshes and multi-field ghost penalisation. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 126(5), Article e7630

The Material Point Method (MPM) is widely used to analyse coupled (solid-water) problems under large deformations/displacements. However, if not addressed carefully, MPM u-p formulations for poro-mechanics can be affected by two major sources of inst... Read More about A stable poro-mechanical formulation for Material Point Methods leveraging overlapping meshes and multi-field ghost penalisation.

A review of chemical stabilisation and fibre reinforcement techniques used to enhance the mechanical properties of rammed earth (2025)
Journal Article
Thompson, D., Augarde, C., & Osorio, J. P. (2025). A review of chemical stabilisation and fibre reinforcement techniques used to enhance the mechanical properties of rammed earth. Discover Civil Engineering, 2(1), Article 27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44290-025-00184-1

Rammed earth is a sustainable construction method with a lower carbon footprint and embodied energy compared to traditional materials like steel and concrete. However, its lower mechanical properties when compared to these forms of construction make... Read More about A review of chemical stabilisation and fibre reinforcement techniques used to enhance the mechanical properties of rammed earth.

An implicit material point-to-rigid body contact approach for large deformation soil-structure interaction (2024)
Journal Article
Bird, R., Pretti, G., Coombs, W., Augarde, C., Sharif, Y., Brown, M., Carter, G., Macdonald, C., & Johnson, K. (2024). An implicit material point-to-rigid body contact approach for large deformation soil-structure interaction. Computers and Geotechnics, 174, Article 106646. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2024.106646

Modelling the interaction between rigid and deformable bodies holds significant relevance in geotechnical engineering, particularly in scenarios involving stiff engineering objects interacting with highly deformable material such as soil. These proce... Read More about An implicit material point-to-rigid body contact approach for large deformation soil-structure interaction.

Preserving non-negative porosity values in a bi-phase elasto-plastic material under Terzaghi’s effective stress principle (2024)
Journal Article
Pretti, G., Coombs, W., Augarde, C., Marchena Puigvert, M., & Reyna Gutierrez, J. A. (2024). Preserving non-negative porosity values in a bi-phase elasto-plastic material under Terzaghi’s effective stress principle. Mechanics of Materials, 192, Article 104958. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechmat.2024.104958

Poromechanics is a well-established field of continuum mechanics which seeks to model materials with multiple phases, usually a stiff solid phase and fluid phases of liquids or gases. Applications are widespread particularly in geomechanics where Ter... Read More about Preserving non-negative porosity values in a bi-phase elasto-plastic material under Terzaghi’s effective stress principle.

On the implementation of a material point‐based arc‐length method (2024)
Journal Article
Gavin, N., Pretti, G., Coombs, W., Brigham, J., & Augarde, C. (2024). On the implementation of a material point‐based arc‐length method. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 125(9), Article e7438. https://doi.org/10.1002/nme.7438

Summary: The material point method is a versatile technique which can be used to solve various types of solid mechanics problems, especially those involving large deformations. However, the capability of the material point method to track a load‐disp... Read More about On the implementation of a material point‐based arc‐length method.

An implicit Material Point Method for micropolar solids undergoing large deformations (2023)
Journal Article
O'Hare, T., Gourgiotis, P., Coombs, W., & Augarde, C. (2024). An implicit Material Point Method for micropolar solids undergoing large deformations. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 419, Article 116668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cma.2023.116668

Modelling the mechanical behaviour of structural systems where the system size approaches that of the material microstructure (such as in MEMS) presents challenges to the standard continuum assumption and classical models can fail to predict importan... Read More about An implicit Material Point Method for micropolar solids undergoing large deformations.

An hp-adaptive discontinuous Galerkin method for phase field fracture (2023)
Journal Article
Bird, R. E., Augarde, C. E., Coombs, W. M., Duddu, R., Giani, S., Huynh, P. T., & Sims, B. (2023). An hp-adaptive discontinuous Galerkin method for phase field fracture. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 416, Article 116336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cma.2023.116336

The phase field method is becoming the de facto choice for the numerical analysis of complex problems that involve multiple initiating, propagating, interacting, branching and merging fractures. However, within the context of finite element modelling... Read More about An hp-adaptive discontinuous Galerkin method for phase field fracture.

Towards a predictive model of the shear strength behaviour of fibre reinforced clay (2023)
Journal Article
Wang, J., Hughes, P. N., & Augarde, C. E. (online). Towards a predictive model of the shear strength behaviour of fibre reinforced clay. European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering, 28(2), 380-400. https://doi.org/10.1080/19648189.2023.2214596

Randomly distributed fibres can be a potential reinforcement material to improve the shear strength of soils. However, gaps remain in experimental research and predictive modelling of the shear strength of fibre reinforced high plasticity clays. In l... Read More about Towards a predictive model of the shear strength behaviour of fibre reinforced clay.

A conservation law consistent updated Lagrangian material point method for dynamic analysis (2023)
Journal Article
Pretti, G., Coombs, W., Augarde, C., Sims, B., Puigvert, M., & Gutierrez, J. (2023). A conservation law consistent updated Lagrangian material point method for dynamic analysis. Journal of Computational Physics, 485, Article 112075. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2023.112075

The Material Point Method (MPM) is well suited to modelling dynamic solid mechanics problems undergoing large deformations with non-linear, history dependent material behaviour. However, the vast majority of existing material point method implementat... Read More about A conservation law consistent updated Lagrangian material point method for dynamic analysis.

A review of current construction guidelines to inform the design of rammed earth houses in seismically active zones (2022)
Journal Article
Thompson, D., Augarde, C., & Osorioa, J. P. (2022). A review of current construction guidelines to inform the design of rammed earth houses in seismically active zones. Journal of Building Engineering, 54, Article 104666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2022.104666

Sustainability in the materials we use for construction is a prime concern, focusing on reducing the embodied energy and carbon footprints of the materials used. The cement used in concrete products is responsible for a significant proportion of Man'... Read More about A review of current construction guidelines to inform the design of rammed earth houses in seismically active zones.

A serviceability investigation of dowel-type timber connections featuring single softwood dowels (2022)
Journal Article
Wilkinson, G., & Augarde, C. (2022). A serviceability investigation of dowel-type timber connections featuring single softwood dowels. Engineering Structures, 260, Article 114210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2022.114210

Dowel-type connections are common in timber engineering, but current design codes are largely based on empiricism and are oversimplified. This inhibits the optimised use of connections, which is essential for the design of economically efficient timb... Read More about A serviceability investigation of dowel-type timber connections featuring single softwood dowels.

Effects of fibre additions on the tensile strength and crack behaviour of unsaturated clay (2022)
Journal Article
Wang, J., Hughes, P. N., & Augarde, C. E. (2023). Effects of fibre additions on the tensile strength and crack behaviour of unsaturated clay. Ground Improvement, 176(2), 108-120. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgrim.21.00006

Desiccation cracking in clay soils is a combined mechanical and hydraulic problem and such soils can be improved by various methods including reinforcement with fibres. The relationships between tensile strength, cracking resistance and water-retenti... Read More about Effects of fibre additions on the tensile strength and crack behaviour of unsaturated clay.

Cross-linking of biopolymers for stabilising earthen construction materials (2021)
Journal Article
Muguda, S., Hughes, P., Augarde, C., Perlot, C., Bruno, A., & Gallipoli, D. (2022). Cross-linking of biopolymers for stabilising earthen construction materials. Building Research and Information, 50(5), 502-514. https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2021.2001304

Biopolymers are promising potential soil stabilizers due to their ease of application and stabilization efficacy. Biopolymers are biologically occurring polymers that form hydrogels when added to soil in the presence of water. Hydrogels are three-dim... Read More about Cross-linking of biopolymers for stabilising earthen construction materials.

A Displacement-controlled Arc-Length Solution Scheme (2021)
Journal Article
Pretti, G., Coombs, W., & Augarde, C. (2022). A Displacement-controlled Arc-Length Solution Scheme. Computers and Structures, 258, Article 106674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruc.2021.106674

Tracing load-displacement paths in structural mechanics problems is complicated in the presence of critical points of instability where conventional load- or displacement control fails. To deal with this, arc-length methods have been developed since... Read More about A Displacement-controlled Arc-Length Solution Scheme.

Numerical modelling of large deformation problems in geotechnical engineering: A state-of-the-art review (2021)
Journal Article
Augarde, C., Lee, S., & Loukidis, D. (2021). Numerical modelling of large deformation problems in geotechnical engineering: A state-of-the-art review. Soils and Foundations, 61(6), 1718-1735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2021.08.007

Many problems in geotechnical engineering involve large movements or rotations, examples include natural processes such as landslides, and man-made processes such as earthmoving and pile penetration. While the use of numerical modelling, primarily th... Read More about Numerical modelling of large deformation problems in geotechnical engineering: A state-of-the-art review.

A comparative study of the effects of particle grading and compaction effort on the strength and stiffness of earth building materials at different humidity levels (2021)
Journal Article
Cuccurullo, A., Gallipoli, D., Bruno, A., Augarde, C., Hughes, P., & La Borderie, C. (2021). A comparative study of the effects of particle grading and compaction effort on the strength and stiffness of earth building materials at different humidity levels. Construction and Building Materials, 306, Article 124770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.124770

This paper presents an investigation of the mechanical properties of three different earth building materials manufactured by compacting two soils with distinct particle size distributions under two markedly different efforts. Multiple samples of eac... Read More about A comparative study of the effects of particle grading and compaction effort on the strength and stiffness of earth building materials at different humidity levels.

An adaptive local maximum entropy point collocation method for linear elasticity   (2021)
Journal Article
Fan, L., Coombs, W., & Augarde, C. (2021). An adaptive local maximum entropy point collocation method for linear elasticity  . Computers and Structures, 256, Article 106644. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruc.2021.106644

Point collocation methods are strong form approaches that can be applied to continuum mechanics problems and possess attractive features over weak form-based methods due to the absence of a mesh. While various adaptive strategies have been proposed t... Read More about An adaptive local maximum entropy point collocation method for linear elasticity  .

Experimental characterization of natural fibre–soil interaction: lessons for earthen construction (2021)
Journal Article
Vincenzini, A., Augarde, C., & Gioffre, M. (2021). Experimental characterization of natural fibre–soil interaction: lessons for earthen construction. Materials and Structures, 54, Article 110. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-021-01703-z

Earthen construction materials are the subject of renewed interest due to the rising alarm about environmental pollution from the construction industry. Current research efforts are focused on improving the mechanical properties of earthen materials... Read More about Experimental characterization of natural fibre–soil interaction: lessons for earthen construction.

An efficient and locking-free material point method for three dimensional analysis with simplex elements (2021)
Journal Article
Wang, L., Coombs, W., Augarde, C., Cortis, M., Brown, M., Brennan, A., Knappett, J., Davidson, C., Richards, D., White, D., & White, A. (2021). An efficient and locking-free material point method for three dimensional analysis with simplex elements. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 122(15), 3876-3899. https://doi.org/10.1002/nme.6685

The Material Point Method is a relative newcomer to the world of solid mechanicsmodelling. Its key advantage is the ability to model problems having large defor-mations while being relatively close to standard nite element methods, howeverits use fo... Read More about An efficient and locking-free material point method for three dimensional analysis with simplex elements.