A new embankment construction method through the analysis of possible failure mechanisms in soft soils

Abstract

A new method to analyze the failure behavior of embankments on soft soils is proposed in this paper. The proposed method is based on the evaluation of stability considerations applied on a possible mechanism which can be initiated by embankment loading. The developed procedure is applied on a successive set of failure mechanisms that extend towards depth starting from the surface. The envisaged mechanism is made up of concentric half circles starting from the toe of the embankment and spreading towards the deeper soils. By partitioning the circular strips by a slip fan system originating from the center of concentric circles a system of collapse mechanism partitioned to produce finite elements is created. Available stress values at each element are found by applying the rules of the lower bound plasticity solution. Once the stresses and the dimensions of the constructed mechanism are defined stability calculations are made to find the critical depth that will result in failure for any desired embankment height. Moreover safety factors mobilized at lower depths can be calculated. © The authors and IGS: All rights reserved, 2019.