Stability of Nonuniform Large Geotextile-Reinforced Cofferdam under Seepage and Excavation Effects
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 23, Issue 2
Abstract
This paper investigates the failure mechanism of nonuniform large geotextile-reinforced cofferdam under seepage and excavation effects on soft sediments. A numerical model is established and validated with available testing results. Then, parametric studies are carried out to investigate the potential influence factors. This study found that the difference between the upstream and downstream water levels and the excavation depth both have significant influences on the stability of cofferdams, where excavation is the key influence factor affecting the stability of the cofferdam. Numerical results revealed that the safety factor could reduce by about 20% with excavation of about 1.5 m. An empirical equation is proposed for quantitative prediction of the stability of geotextile-reinforced cofferdams. A thorough understanding about the failure mechanisms of cofferdams as well as an empirical formula for predicting the stability is concluded in this study, which could provide engineering guide for flexible foundations reinforced by geotextiles.
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Acknowledgments
The first four authors would like to acknowledge the supports from the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2021A1515010828 and 2020A1515410001), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Modern Civil Engineering Technology (2021B1212040003), Hubei Key Laboratory of Construction and Management in Hydropower Engineering (2020KSD02) and also supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2022ZYGXZR011).
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
- B
- crest width of the cofferdam;
- c
- cohesion;
- cs
- cohesion of the soft clay;
- D
- distance to the cofferdam center;
- E
- Young’s modulus;
- Fs
- factor of safety;
- H
- height of the cofferdam;
- He
- excavation depth;
- Hwu
- upstream water level of the cofferdam;
- Hwd
- downstream water level of the cofferdam;
- J
- tensile stiffness of the geotextile mats;
- k
- cofferdam slope ((W − B)/2H);
- kc
- permeability of the soft clay;
- ks
- permeability of the infilled sand;
- L
- linear meter of geotextile;
- S11
- x-stress in horizontal direction;
- S22
- y-stress in vertical direction;
- t
- thickness of the mat;
- tc
- actual filling time for each layer of the large geotextile mat;
- t0
- assumed filling time for each layer of the large geotextile mat;
- W
- cofferdam base width;
- ΔH
- upstream and downstream water level difference;
- γs
- density of infilled sand;
- γw
- density of water;
- effective density of the infilled sand;
- effective density of the soft clay;
- φ
- internal friction angle of the infilled sand;
- ψ
- dilatancy angle; and
- υ
- Poisson’s ratio.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 23 • Issue 2 • February 2023
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 30, 2022
Accepted: Sep 20, 2022
Published online: Nov 22, 2022
Published in print: Feb 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Apr 22, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Analysis (by type)
- Business management
- Cofferdams
- Construction engineering
- Construction methods
- Engineering fundamentals
- Excavation
- Failure analysis
- Forensic engineering
- Geomaterials
- Geomechanics
- Geosynthetics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Hydraulic engineering
- Hydraulic structures
- Models (by type)
- Numerical models
- Ports and harbors
- Practice and Profession
- Public administration
- Public health and safety
- Safety
- Seepage
- Soil mechanics
- Soil properties
- Structural engineering
- Water and water resources
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