Base Stability of Circular Excavations in Soft Clay
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 128, Issue 8
Abstract
The base stability of circular excavations in soft clay is expected to be larger than rectangular excavations due to the shape effect. Up to the present, however, the base stability of circular excavations is usually evaluated with two-dimensional methods although some modification has been made to consider the shape effect. In this analysis, the finite-element method with reduced shear strength is used to evaluate the base stability of circular excavations. The base stability of circular excavations significantly increases with the presence of the hard stratum close to the base of the excavation, and with the depth of the wall inserted into the soft clay layer below the base of the excavation. A design chart for the base stability of circular excavations is provided.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Bjerrum, L., and Eide, O.(1956). “Stability of strutted excavations in clay.” Geotechnique, 6(1), 32–47.
Cai, F., and Ugai, K.(2000). “Numerical analysis of the stability of a slope reinforced with piles.” Soils Found., 40(1), 73–84.
Goh, A. T. C.(1994). “Estimating basal-heave stability for braced excavations in soft clay.” J. Geotech. Eng., 120(8), 1430–1436.
Griffiths, D. V., and Lane, P. A.(1999). “Slope stability analysis by finite elements.” Geotechnique, 49(3), 387–403.
Matsui, T., and San, K. C.(1992). “Finite-element slope stability analysis by shear strength reduction technique.” Soils Found., 32(1), 59–70.
Smith, I. M., and Ho, D. K. H.(1992). “Influence of construction technique on the performance of a braced excavation in marine clay.” Int. J. Numer. Analyt. Meth. Geomech., 16, 845–868.
Terzaghi, K. (1943). Theoretical soil mechanics. Wiley, New York.
Ueno, K., Yokoyama, Y., Ohi, A., and Fujii, T. (1996). “Earth pressures acting on flexible circular shafts in sand.” Proc., Geotech. Aspect of Underground Construction in Soft Ground, R. J. Mair and R. N. Taylor, eds., A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 237–242.
Ugai, K.(1989). “A method of calculation of global safety factor of slopes by elastoplastic FEM.” Soils Found., 29(2), 190–195 (in Japanese).
Ugai, K., and Leshchinsky, D.(1995). “Three-dimensional limit equilibrium and finite-element analyses: A comparison of results.” Soils Found., 35(4), 1–7.
Zienkiewicz, O. C., Humpheson, C., and Lewis, R. W.(1975). “Associated and nonassociated viscoplasticity and plasticity in soil mechanics.” Geotechnique, 25(4), 671–689.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 12, 2000
Accepted: Feb 15, 2002
Published online: Jul 15, 2002
Published in print: Aug 2002
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.