A VIRTUAL TRIAXIAL COMPRESSION TEST SIMULATOR

Dayakar Penumadu: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA Amit Prashant: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA David J. Frost: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
Acknowledgements: Financial support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through grants EEC-0296187 is gratefully acknowledged. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF.
9/7/2004 Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004 1

Presentation Outline

Concept of Virtual Laboratory Testing Teaching and Learning Styles Limitations to Existing Pedagogy Potential Benefits from Geo-Sim Role of Constitutive Models / Data Base Examples / Screen Shots Summary

9/7/2004

Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004

Concept of Virtual Laboratory Testing

1. The objective of this research is to develop multimedia software (GeoSim) for performing virtual laboratory experiments to complement and extend the existing laboratory course component related to soil behavior. The virtual experiments are proposed as an addition to the limited real experiments performed within the existing curriculum. For virtual experiments, well-trained neural network based soil models and digitized data are being used to simulate the response of geo-materials in a variety of Geotechnical laboratory tests and under a range of test conditions. The proposed test simulator will contain modules consisting of different laboratory simulations. A pilot triaxial compression test module within the test simulator for evaluating the shear strength behavior of soil has been developed to date. The software supports WINDOWS platforms with multimedia capabilities. The Geo-Sim software will be implemented for evaluation starting in Fall, 2004 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004 3

2.

3.

4.

9/7/2004

Use of Virtual Laboratory Testing

1. We have implemented a preliminary virtual laboratory environment using (Your Labs Package developed at the University of Arizona) The goal of our project is to concentrate on Shear Strength Testing Modules (as opposed to introductory soil mechanics experiments) Feed-back from students is proving to be very useful for the development of Geo-Sim.

2.

3.

9/7/2004

Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004

Objective of Virtual Laboratory Testing

To overcome the current limitations in achieving the goal of providing the student engineer with a good knowledge of experimental apparatus, test procedure, interpretation, and errors associated with the measurement techniques. Related information on instrumentation, specimen preparation, assembly, and testing is provided using multi-media capabilities using short and relevant video/audio clips. The GeoSim interface also provides opportunities for students to perform virtual experiments to study parameter effects.
9/7/2004 5

Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004

Cone of Learning and Need for Simulations

9/7/2004

Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004

Learning and Teaching Styles

In co-operation with faculty in liberal studies, the investigators have been using Kolbs learning style inventory approach (Kolb, 1984) in evaluating the predominant learning styles of the undergraduate students in the soil mechanics class. A typical summary of results of the survey indicate that the civil engineering students can be categorized as convergers or assimilators regarding their preferred learning style. The implications of these learning styles are widely published (Felder and Stice, 1992). These results in conjunction with the cone of learning indicate that simulating the real experience becomes an important learning aspect of a typical geotechnical student. Thus, the laboratory simulations that Geo-Sim provides will be especially useful for promoting their understanding.
9/7/2004 Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004 7

The advantages of the Test simulator

1) They provide the students with a realistic feel for magnitudes and sensitivity to system parameters and allow them to examine the relationship between such parameters 2) Hands-on laboratory experience is restricted to systems which are relatively inexpensive and offer no safety problems and the simulations can extend this experience to a wide range of experiments, 3) Computer-assisted methods provide the undergraduates with interactive design experiences which are relevant to their future careers 4) Experimental results (Mosterman et al., 1994) indicate that students who use the virtual laboratory prior to a physical laboratory are able to complete the tasks in a shorter period of time with less assistance and are more satisfied with the lab experience.

9/7/2004

Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004

Learning Objectives for Drained Triaxial TestingExample

To provide the student engineer with a good knowledge of: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Triaxial Apparatus The Test procedure Measured and Interpreted Data Data Analysis Interpreted Soil Behavior

Expose Possible Errors Involved With Measurement and Assumptions With Interpretation
9/7/2004 Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004 9

Role of Constitutive Models in Virtual Experiments

1. Neural Network Models: Composed of many nonlinear computational elements operating in parallel and arranged in patterns reminiscent of biological neural nets. The approach used in this research was to represent the experimentally observed behavior of soils within a unified environment using neural networks. The soil behavior network is built from experimental data using the organizing capabilities of the neural net, i.e the network is presented with the experimental data and is trained to learn the relationship between input and output variables for varying controlling factors. The appropriate ANN computer code is linked to the Geo-Sim program during the simulation phase for a given set of input parameters associated with a specific laboratory test. Important limitation is that to develop reliable ANN models, large amount of experimental data is required for training and validation and thus only those stress paths that have large published data use ANN approach for generating virtual response that is representative of real response.
Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004 10

9/7/2004

Role of Constitutive Models in Virtual Experiments

2. Digitization and Data Base: For those stress paths that have limited data and use of neural nets is not reliable. Thus the virtual response is based on using Graphical User Interface of Geo-Sim with appropriate link with the Data Base capabilities of the code. In order to increase the capabilities of the GEOSIM program, a database was developed to store the soil test parameters used in developing the simulation parameters. The purpose of the database is to facilitate querying and visualizing soil test parameters and results as well as provide continuous support for adding new soil test data into the database without requiring additional code to be written within GEOSIM. Once, soil test data has been added, the software can retrieve the data based on queries coded into the GUI. Alternatively, users could generate queries of their own within the Microsoft Access database.

9/7/2004

Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004

11

Main Window

9/7/2004

Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004

12

Understanding of Various Phases of Testing and Required Computations

9/7/2004

Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004

13

Simulation of Triaxial Drained Test

9/7/2004

Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004

14

Visualization and Analysis of Simulation Data

9/7/2004

Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004

15

Report Generation

9/7/2004

Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004

16

Parametric Study

9/7/2004

Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004

17

Resources

Testing Equipment and its Components Sampling techniques Sensors Test Procedures Error Sources and Limitations Background Material (Soil Classification) Data Analysis (More Comprehensive) Audio Visual Resources (Ex. Sensors, Load Frame)

9/7/2004

Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004

18

Summary

Simulation of laboratory testing as a supplement to actual testing shows promise considering the learning styles of student engineers. A multimedia software GeoSim is being developed that will complement and extend the existing laboratory course component related to consolidation and shear behavior of soils. The software is designed such that the testing components are modular in nature and the GUI provides easy navigation through various modules/segments. Students can simulate various phases of testing and learn about the assumptions, errors, and computations involved in each step by facing a series of online questions. The user can perform parametric study and use the available database of published experimental data for further analysis. Details of the test apparatus, sampling, testing procedure, and other useful information is provided in the resources including many audiovisuals.
Penumadu, Prashant, and Frost. EM-2004 19

9/7/2004