Deep Failure beneath Supported Sheet-Pile Walls in Sand

Deep excavation in saturated sands under the groundwater level is often a complex practical experience.The presence of the seepage flow causes a variety of instabilities in terms of the ground heaving, piping,passive pressure failure and deep seated failure. While the first three have been almost well studied in theliterature, the latter has attracted less attention. Following very early contribution of Terzaghi in 1940s,the deep seated failure has been analyzed by making use of the finite element and stress characteristicsmethods at the same time. The first method plays the role of a background” solution of the flow fieldwhereas the latter will be the foreground” solution of the stability problem. Results reveal that in spite ofquite well margin of safety in absence of the seepage flow, the instability becomes most likely to form interms of a deep failure when the seepage flow exists.

کلیدواژه ها:

Sand ، Stability ، Stress Characteristics ، Finite Elements ، Seepage