• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.84 no.6
• /
• pp.743-765
• /
• 2022

Near-surface excavations may cause the tilting and destruction of the adjacent superstructures in big cities. The stability of a huge excavation and its nearby superstructures was studied in this paper. Some test instruments monitored the deformation and loads at the designed location. Then the numerical models of the excavation were made in FLAC3D (a three-dimensional finite difference code) and Plaxis-3D (a three-dimensional finite element code). The effects of different supporting and reinforcement tools such as nails, piles, and shotcretes on the stability and bearing capacity of the foundation were analyzed through different numerical models. The numerically approximated results were compared with the corresponding in-field monitored results and reasonable compatibility was obtained. It was concluded that the displacement in excavation and the settlement of the nearby superstructure increases gradually as the depth of excavation rises. The effects of support and reinforcements were also observed and modeled in this study. The settlement of the structure gradually decreased as the supports were installed. These analyses showed that the pile significantly increased the bearing capacity and decreased the settlement of the superstructure. As a whole, the monitoring and numerical simulation results were in good consistency with one another in this practically important project.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
• /
• 2006.03a
• /
• pp.530-535
• /
• 2006

The Pusan clays are soft and thick deposits and in some places, they reach even up to 50-70m. So, the pile foundations are inevitable in almost all cases. But they are significantly expansive when the length of the pile reaches about 70m. In this study, a comprehensive parametric study has been carried out in order to reduce the pile length and number of piles required in turn the cost of the foundation for particular building. A belled shaft pile has been optimized for a typical soil profile using the PLAXIS (FEM code). These results have shown a new direction of the pile foundation in Pusan, Korea. The results including the variation of contact pressures at the bottom of the bell, optimization of the angle of the bell and height of the bell in terms of the diameter of the shaft. And also, the design curves have been generated so that they can be directly used for design of belled shaft foundations. However, the structural strength criterion is being checked in the concerned laboratory.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.23 no.5
• /
• pp.455-466
• /
• 2020

This paper presents analysis of the interaction between tunnel and Qanat with a particular interest for the optimization of Qanat shape using the discrete element code, PFC2D, and the results will be compared with the FEM results of PLAXIS2D. For these concerns, using software PFC2D based on Discrete Element Method (DEM), a model with dimension of 100m ^⁎ 100 m was prepared. A circular tunnel with dimension of 9 m was situated 20 m below the ground surface. Also one Qanat was situated perpendicularly above the tunnel roof. Distance between Qanat center and ground surface was 8 m. Five different shapes for Qanat were selected i.e., square, semi-circular, vertical ellipse, circular and horizontal ellipse. Confining pressure of 5 MPa was applied to the model. The vertical displacement of balls situated in ground surface was picked up to measure the ground subsidence. Also two measuring circles were situated at the tunnel roof and at the Qanat roof to check the vertical displacements. The properties of the alluvial soil of Tehran city are: γ_dry=19 (KN/㎥), E= 750 (kg/㎠), ν=0.35, c=0.3(kg/㎠), φ=34°. In order to validate the DEM results, a comparison between the numerical results (obtained in this study) and analytical and field monitoring have been done. The PFC2D results are compared with the FEM results. The results shows that when Qanat has rectangular shape, the tensile stress concentration at the Qanat corners has maximum value while it has minimum value for vertical ellipse shape. The ground subsidence for Qanat rectangular shape has maximum value while it has minimum value for ellipse shape of Qanat. The vertical displacements at the tunnel roof for Qanat rectangular shape has maximum value while it has minimum value for ellipse shape of Qanat. Historical shape of Qante approved the finding of this research.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.21 no.5
• /
• pp.401-411
• /
• 2020

The paper describes the influence of pile reinforcement on the stability of the slope behaviour, and the exploitation of the results of in situ measurements will be conducted. In the second part, a 2D numerical modelling will be conducted by using the finite element code PLAXIS2D; in order to validate the proposed modelling approach by comparing the numerical results with the measurements results carried out on the slides studied; to study the effect of positioning of piles as a function of the shear parameters of the supported soil on the behaviour of the soil. For various shear strength of the soil a row of pile position is found, at which the piles offer the maximum contribution to slope stability. The position of piles is found to influence the safety factor in granular soil whereas it shows a slight influence on the safety factor in coherent soil. The results also indicate that the ideal position for such stabilizing piles is in the middle height of the slope. Comparison of results of present study with literature from publication: indicated that to reach the maximum stability of slope, the pile must be installed with L_x/L ratio (0.37 to 0.62) and the inclination must be between 30° to 60°. Even, after a certain length of the pile, the increasing will be useless. The application of the present approach to such a problem is located at the section of PK 210+480 to 210+800 of the Algerian East-West Highway.