Nonlinear Finite-Element Prediction of the Performance of a Deep Excavation in Boston Blue Clay
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 5
Abstract
The work investigates the behavior of a deep excavation which forms part of a 100 m wide basement excavation located in Boston, Massachusetts. Two different types of tied-back retaining walls were used, i.e., a soldier pile tremie concrete wall and a traditional reinforced concrete diaphragm wall. The glacial marine clay (Boston Blue Clay) deposit was modeled with the Kinematic Hardening Model for Structured soils (KHSM), its reduced bubble model version (KHM) and the well-known Modified Cam Clay (MCC) model. The difference between the models is the prediction of softening with loss of structure as plastic strains occur. The values of the optimised soil parameters used in the simulations were obtained by a careful calibration of the models against a range of advanced laboratory and field tests performed at the site. Comparison of the available horizontal wall movements monitoring data with the undrained finite-element predictions revealed a very satisfactory agreement when the KHM was used in conjunction with a small-strain elastic formulation. The relatively small increase in lateral wall deflection in the presence of initial structure accounted for in the KHSM confirms that the small-strain properties of the soil control the magnitude of excavation deformations. Finally, using a coupled-consolidation analysis and the KHSM, an excellent agreement between the observed and measured pore water pressures and ground movements of the excavation base was achieved.
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Acknowledgments
The third author would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by EPSRC and Buro Happold Ltd during his doctoral program. We are also grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 5 • May 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 13, 2015
Accepted: Sep 20, 2016
Published online: Feb 1, 2017
Published in print: May 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Jul 1, 2017
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