Discretization-Based Kinematic Approach for Three-Dimensional Stability Analysis of Slurry Trenches in Cohesive–Frictional Soils
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24, Issue 1
Abstract
Although trench failures observed in the field clearly show three-dimensional (3D) characteristics, the stability analyses of slurry-supported trenches are typically carried out under plane-strain assumptions. The factor of safety on trench stability produced by two-dimensional studies is also regarded as conservative as the favoring 3D end effects are not considered. To address this issue, a 3D rigid rotational mechanism formulated by a spatial discretization scheme is proposed for the stability analysis of slurry trenches in cohesive–frictional soils. The proposed method agrees well with the upper-bound solutions and corresponding optimal failure profiles of conventional rigid rotational mechanism (horn mechanism) of long trenches. Further improvement is achieved for short trenches as the discretization technique allows the mechanism to be generated with any given boundary conditions without assumption of standard geometry. Discussions on the influence of slurry parameters and soil strength parameters on trench stability are presented with results in the form of stability charts for convenience of application in practice.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51738010) and the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFC0800202). These sources of support are acknowledged. The first author is also grateful for the financial support from China Scholarship Council (CSC) (Grant No. 201906260156) to conduct part of this study at the National University of Singapore.
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International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24 • Issue 1 • January 2024
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 8, 2023
Accepted: Jul 11, 2023
Published online: Nov 2, 2023
Published in print: Jan 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Apr 2, 2024
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