Numerical Simulation of Wetting-Induced Settlement of Embankments
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 31, Issue 3
Abstract
In this paper, the Barcelona basic model (BBM) was implemented in a finite difference-based computer program to simulate the behavior of unsaturated soils subjected to wetting. The BBM implementation was verified using analytical solutions, and the verified model was used to simulate the wetting-induced response of a compacted fill embankment subjected to complete saturation as the worst-case scenario for design. Results showed that considerable amount of total and differential settlements could develop at the top surface of the embankment. Additionally, upper sections of the embankment had a tendency to heave, whereas lower sections under larger confining stresses could collapse due to wetting. Results of a subsequent parametric study indicated that initial moisture content, embankment height, and slope angle have significant influences on the wetting-induced deformations and stability of unsaturated embankments.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The study described in this paper was partly funded by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation through the grant number ODOT FFY 2012 SP&R Item No. 2227.
References
Alonso, E. E., Gens, A., and Josa, A. (1990). “A constitutive model for partially saturated soil.” Geotechnique, 40(3), 405–430.
Alonso, E. E., Olivella, S., and Pinyol, N. M. (2005). “A review of Beliche dam.” Geotechnique, 55(4), 267–285.
Basma, A. A., and Tuncer, E. R. (1992). “Evaluation and control of collapsible soils.” J. Geotech. Eng., 1491–1504.
Berg, R. R., Christopher, B. R., and Samtani, N. (2009). “Design of mechanically stablized earth walls and reinforced soil slopes.”, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC.
Cerato, A. B., Miller, G. A., and Hajjat, J. (2009). “The influence of clod-size and structure on wetting-induced volume change of compacted soil.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1620–1628.
Code_Bright [Computer software]. UPC (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya), Barcelona, Spain.
Costa, L. M., and Alonso, E. E. (2009). “Predicting the behavior of an earth and rockfill dam under construction.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 851–862.
Duncan, J. M., and Wright, S. G. (2005). Soil strength and slope stability, Wiley, NJ.
Farias, M. M., and Cordao Neto, M. P. (2010). “Advanced numerical simulation of collapsible earth dams.” Can. Geotech. J., 47(12), 1351–1364.
Gallipoli, D., D’Onza, F., and Wheeler, S. J. (2010). “A sequential method for selecting parameter values in the Barcelona basic model.” Can. Geotech. J., 47(11), 1175–1186.
Garcia, L. M. (2010). “Influence of moisture content on pullout resistance of geotextiles in marginal quality soils.” Master’s thesis, Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.
Gens, A., Sanchez, M., and Sheng, D. (2006). “On constitutive modeling of unsaturated soils.” Acta Geotech., 1(3), 137–147.
Hatami, K., Granados, J. E., Esmaili, D., and Miller, G. A. (2013). “Influence of gravimetric water content on geotextile reinforcement pullout resistance in MSE walls with marginal soils.” Transp. Res. Rec., 13-3836, 66–74.
Hatami, K., Miller, G. A., and Esmaili, D. (2011). “Use of MSE technology to stabilize highway embankments and slopes in Oklahoma.”, Oklahoma Dept. of Transportation, Oklahoma City, OK.
Hatami, K., Miller, G. A., and Garcia, L. M. (2009). “Use of MSE technology to stabilize highway embankments and slopes in Oklahoma.”, Oklahoma Transportation Center, Oklahoma City, OK.
Houston, S. L., Houston, W. N, Zapata, C. E., and Lawrence, C. (2001). “Geotechnical engineering practice for collapsible soils.” Unsaturated soil concepts and their application in geotechnical practice, Springer, Netherlands, 333–355.
Houston, S. L., Houston, W. N., and Spadola, D. J. (1988). “Prediction of field collapse of soils due to wetting.” J. Geotech. Eng., 40–58.
Hoyos, L., Pérez-Ruiz, D., and Puppala, A. (2012). “Refined true triaxial apparatus for testing unsaturated soils under suction-controlled stress paths.” Int. J. Geomech., 281–291.
Itasca Consulting Group. (2005). “FLAC, fast lagrangian analysis of continua, version 5.0.” Minneapolis, MN.
Josa, A. (1988). “Un modelo eslastoplastico para suelos no saturados.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Politencnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Lawton, E. C. (1986). “Wetting-induced collapse in compacted soil.” Ph.D. thesis, Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA.
Lawton, E. C., Fragaszy, R. J., and Hardcastle, J. H. (1989). “Collapse of compacted clayey sand.” J. Geotech. Eng., 1252–1267.
Lawton, E. C., Fragaszy, R. J., and Hetherington, M. D. (1992). “Review of wetting-induced collapse in compacted soil.” J. Geotech. Eng., 1376–1394.
Lim, Y. Y., and Miller, G. A. (2004). “Wetting-induced compression of compacted Oklahoma soils.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1014–1023.
McCartney, J. S., and Zornberg, J. G. (2010). “Centrifuge permeameter for unsaturated soils. II: Results and analysis.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1064–1076.
Miller, G. A., Muraleetharan, K. K., and Lim, Y. Y. (2001). “Wetting-induced settlement of compacted fill embankments.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1755, 111–118.
Mun, W., and McCartney, J. S. (2015). “Compression mechanisms of unsaturated clay under high stress levels.” Can. Geotech. J., 52(12), 2099–2112.
Nuth, M., and Laloui, L. (2008). “Effective stress concept in unsaturated soils: Clarification and validation of a unified framework.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech., 32(7), 771–801.
Rutqvist, J., Ijiri, Y., and Yamamoto, H. (2011). “Implementation of the Barcelona basic model into TOUGH-FLAC for simulations of the geomechanical behavior of unsaturated soils.” Comput. Geosci., 37(6), 751–762.
Sheng, D. (2011). “Review of fundamental principles in modelling unsaturated soil behaviour.” Comput. Geotech., 38(6), 757–776.
Sheng, D., Sloan, S. W., and Gens, A. (2004). “A constitutive model for unsaturated soils: Thermomechanical and computational aspects.” Comput. Mech., 33(6), 453–465.
Sun, D. A., Sheng, D., and Xu, Y. (2007). “Collapse behaviour of unsaturated compacted soil with different initial densities.” Can. Geotech. J., 44(6), 673–686.
Wheeler, S. J., Sharma, R. S., and Buisson, M. S. R. (2003). “Coupling of hydraulic hysteresis and stress-strain behavior in unsaturated soils.” Geotechnique, 53(1), 41–54.
Zhang, X., and Lytton, R. L. (2009a). “A modified state surface approach on unsaturated soil behavior study. I: Basic concept.” Can. Geotech. J., 46(5), 536–552.
Zhang, X., and Lytton, R. L. (2009b). “A modified state surface approach on unsaturated soil behavior study. II: General formulation.” Can. Geotech. J., 46(5), 553–570.
Zhang, X., and Lytton, R. L. (2012). “A modified state surface approach on unsaturated soil behavior study. III: Modeling of coupled hydro-mechanical effect.” Can. Geotech. J., 49(1), 98–120.
Zhang, X., and Xiao, M. (2013). “Using modified state surface approach to select parameter values in the Barcelona basic model.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech., 37(12), 1847–1866.
Zheng, Y. (2013). “Numerical analysis of wetting-induced settlement of embankments.” Master’s thesis, Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.
Zheng, Y., Hatami, K., and Miller, G. A. (2013). “Numerical modeling of wetting-induced settlement of embankments.” GeoCongress 2013, Stability and Performance of Slopes and Embankments III, ASCE, Reston, VA, 333–342.
Zornberg, J. G., and McCartney, J. S. (2010). “Centrifuge permeameter for unsaturated soils. I: Theory and experimental philosophy.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1051–1063.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 15, 2016
Accepted: Oct 3, 2016
Published online: Jan 23, 2017
Published in print: Jun 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Jun 23, 2017
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.