The Material Point Method (MPM) has drawn great attention in the numerical modelling of large deformation, geotechnical problems. The popularity of MPM is mainly because its formulation shares significant similarities with the Finite Element Method. In MPM, the iteration points can move independently from the mesh, allowing for the resolution of large deformation problems. However, because of this, the original MPM formulation suffers from the well‐known cell‐crossing noise and volumetric‐locking instabilities, resulting in a strongly oscillated stress field. A novel implicit locking‐free B‐spline MPM that controls stress oscillations to a negligible level is proposed in this paper. A novel, but very straightforward B‐spline shape function implementation procedure, avoids the need for a complex material point searching algorithm, providing seamless transformation from the original MPM to this robust B‐spline MPM, aiming at modelling large‐strain geotechnical problems. The newly proposed volumetric locking mitigation strategy is also very easy to implement, which facilitates the reproducibility of this research. The proposed method is validated against three numerical studies: granular column collapse experiment, slope failure and footing with large penetration. The proposed numerical method agrees well with experiments reported in the literature and previous numerical studies. Also, these numerical examples show that the proposed method provides a more prominent stress field than other available methodologies.

Most of the reported centrifuge tests available in the existing literature on offshore wind turbine foundations are focused on the behaviour of monopiles in sands, but very few studies on clayey soils can be found, due to the very long saturation and consolidation periods required to properly conduct experiments in such materials. Moreover, most of the reported numerical simulations using finite element analyses have been validated with monotonic centrifuge tests only. In this research, both monotonic and cyclic performance of offshore wind turbines in clay are validated and justified. The relationship between the monopile rotation in clays and the geometry and strength of the soil has been found and quantified. A prediction of the rotation for a high number of cycles of loading, based on the one experienced by the pile during the first cycle, can be obtained using the correlation derived in the paper. For those cases in which the rotation does not reach a steady value after a high number of cycles, the cumulative rate has been found significantly larger than the prediction conducted with standard analytical methods. A new design methodology for the design of offshore monopile foundations in clay is presented.

A new semi-implicit, two-phase, double-point formulation of the Material Point Method (MPM) for soil–water interaction with seepage and free-surface flows under large deformation is presented in this paper. The approach advances the water phase implicitly while keeping the soil phase explicit, enabling stable, efficient time integration in problems that involve rapid seepage and strong free-surface motion. The proposed framework models high-Reynolds-number interphase drag through a non-linear Darcy’s law implemented for the first time within an incremental fractional step MPM formulation without enlarging the implicit solve. This methodology also enhances the numerical stability for fast flows and wave breaking via a hyperelastic constitutive treatment of slightly compressible viscous water, and mitigates spurious oscillations through a new stabilisation approach for the velocity. Robustness of soil–water interface is achieved by combining nodal-based, free-surface detection, suited for higher-order spline functions with smooth porosity–permeability transitions that avoid constitutive divergence at sharp material boundaries. Validation against laboratory benchmark cases reported in the literature, including pure-water dam break, dam-break seepage through a porous barrier, two granular-collapse tsunami experiments, and a dam-break wave over a movable granular bed, shows accurate and stable free-surface evolution, pressure time histories, seepage fronts, and wave-gauge records. Using an advanced critical-state soil model (NorSand) further improves the reproduction of granular flow kinematics. The results demonstrate that the proposed formulation is a reliable and computationally efficient tool for geotechnical hazards involving intense soil–water coupling, seepage, sediment transport and free water.

In the context of growing class sizes and limited institutional resources, student-centred and respon- sive education is increasingly important although challenging to implement effectively. A central part of responsiveness involves interpreting and acting on student-generated data -a task that can be par- ticularly challenging for novice engineering educators, as their background and training often guide both how they understand the data and how they respond to it. This paper reflects on our experiences, as teaching assistants and course lead, in developing and running a data analysis process for a large- scale problem-based learning engineering mathematics course. Using autoethnographic data from written reflections and transcripts, we applied an adapted version of Sochacka et al.’s (2009) three-tier reflexivity model to analyse how our understandings evolved regarding (i) what counts as data, (ii) how it can be interpreted, and (iii) what matters in its analysis. Through dialogic exchange, we identified significant shifts in our conceptualisations of the task of educational data analytics, as well as the value we placed on the different types of data.