Determining an appropriate finite element size for modelling the strength of undrained random soils

The mechanical properties of soils and rocks can be highly variable, and there has recently been a great deal of interest in modelling this variability using random field theory, in which the material properties vary from point to point. When these point-wise material properties are mapped onto a finite element mesh, discretization errors are inevitable. In this study, the discretization errors are studied and suggestions for element sizes in relation with spatial correlation lengths are given. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.