Reliability-Based Analysis of Cantilever Sheet Pile Walls Backfilled with Different Soil Types Using the Finite-Element Approach
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 15, Issue 6
Abstract
The paper presents an analytical study of a cantilever sheet pile wall considering the effects of uncertainty of soil properties. The failure probability () of the sheet pile wall is combined with the sensitivity () of geotechnical random variables on the failure mode, and a new factor, the probabilistic risk factor (), is proposed for each random variable corresponding to different variations of the random variables. The cantilever sheet pile wall that is driven into a cohesionless soil layer and backfilled by (1) cohesionless soil and (2) cohesive soil is considered separately for analysis against the rotational failure mode. is obtained by developing the response surface, based on finite element models. The sensitivity of each random variable is obtained by F-test analysis. It is observed that the cohesion of foundation soil () and water table positions are the important factors that influence the stability of the cantilever sheet pile walls to a great extent. Finally, design guidelines are provided based on the proposed risk factor–based approach for different heights of the cantilever sheet pile wall, pertaining to variation in soil properties and for varying positions of the water table.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Babu, G. L. S., and Basha, B. M. (2008). “Optimum design of cantilever sheet pile walls using inverse reliability approach.” Comput. Geotech., 35(2), 134–143.
Basma, A. A. (1990). “Reliability-based design of sheet pile structures.” Reliab. Eng. Syst. Saf., 33(2), 215–230.
Becker, D. E. (1996). “Eighteenth Canadian geotechnical colloquium: Limit states design for foundations. Part 1. An overview of the foundation design process.” Can. Geotech. J., 33(6), 956–983.
Bilgin, O. (2012). “Lateral earth pressure coefficients for anchored sheet pile walls.” Int. J. Geomech., 584–595.
Bolton, M. D. (1979). A guide to soil mechanics, McMillan Press, London.
Bowles J. E. (1996). Foundation analysis and design, 5th Ed., McGraw-Hill International Editions, New York.
Cherubini, C. (2000). “Probabilistic approach to the design of anchored sheet pile walls.” Comput. Geotech., 26(4), 309–330.
Chowdhury, R. N., and Xu, D. W. (1995). “Geotechnical system reliability of slopes.” Reliab. Eng. Syst. Saf., 47(3), 141–151.
Christian, J. T., Ladd, C. C., and Baecher, G. B. (1994). “Reliability and probability in stability analysis.” J. Geotech. Eng., 2180–2207.
Craig (1987). Soil mechanics, 4th Ed., Van Nostrand Reinhold, Taylor and Francis, London.
Duncan, J. M. (2000). “Factors of safety and reliability in geotechnical engineering.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 307–316.
GuhaRay, A., and Baidya, D. K. (2012). “Reliability coupled sensitivity based design approach for gravity retaining walls.” J. Inst. Eng. Ser. A, 93(3), 193–201.
Harr, M. E. (1984). “Reliability-based design in civil engineering.” Henry M. Shaw Lecture, Dept. of Civil Engineering, North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC.
Kulhawy, F. H. (1992). “On the evaluation of static soil properties.” Stability and performance of slopes and embankments II, Geotechnical special publication 31, R. B. Seed and R. W. Boulanger, eds., ASCE, Reston, VA, 95–115.
Lee, F. H., Hong S. H., Gu, Q., and Zhao, P. (2011). “Application of large three-dimensional finite-element analyses to practical problems.” Int. J. Geomech., 529–539.
MATLAB 7.1 [Computer software]. Natick, MA, The MathWorks.
Nataraj, M. S., and Hoadley, P. G. (1984). “Design of anchored bulkheads in sands.” J. Geotech. Eng., 110(4), 505–515.
Pane, V., and Tamagnini, C. (1997). “Problemi generali delle analisi delle opere di sostegno.” IV Convegno Nazio-nale Ricercatori d'Ingegneria Geotecnica, Vol. 2, Perugia, Hevelius, 1–120 (in Italian).
Rankine, W. J. M. (1857). “On the stability of loose earth.” Philos. Trans. R. Soc., 147, 9–27.
Rausand, M., and Hoylan, A. (2004). “System reliability theory, models, statistical methods, and applications.” Wiley series in probability and statistics, 2nd Ed., D. J. Balding, ed., Wiley, Hoboken, NJ.
Rowe, P. W. (1955). “Theoretical and experimental analysis of sheet-pile walls.” Proc., Institution of Civil Engineers, Vol. 4(1), London, 32–69.
Saltelli, A., Tarantola, S., and Chan, K. P. S. (1999). “A quantitative model independent method for global sensitivity analysis of model output.” Technometrics, 41(1), 39–56.
Sandford, T. C. (1992). “Partial and total factors of safety in anchored sheet pile design: Discussion.” Can. Geotech. J., 29(6), 1004.
Stamatis, D. H. (1995). Failure mode and effect analysis: FMEA from theory to execution. American Society for Quality (ASQ), Milwaukee, WI.
Taylor, D. W. (1948). Fundamentals of soil mechanics, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Terzaghi, K., and Peck, R. B. (1948). Soil mechanics in engineering practice, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Terzaghi, K., and Peck, R. B. (1967). Soil mechanics in engineering practice, 2nd Ed., John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Tran, V. D. H., Meguid, M. A., and Chouinard, L. E. (2014). “Three-dimensional analysis of geogrid-reinforced soil using a finite-discrete element framework.” Int. J. Geomech., 04014066.
USACE Engineering Manual. (1994). Design of sheet pile walls, US Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC.
U.S. Department of the Navy. (1986). Foundations and earth structures, NAVFAC Design Manual 7.2, Washington, DC.
Zevgolis, I. E., and Bourdeau, P. L. (2010). “Probabilistic analysis of retaining walls.” Comput. Geotech., 37(3), 359–373.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 15 • Issue 6 • December 2015
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 1, 2014
Accepted: Nov 14, 2014
Published online: Mar 31, 2015
Discussion open until: Aug 31, 2015
Published in print: Dec 1, 2015
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.