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(Asce) 1090-0241 (2007) 133 1
(Asce) 1090-0241 (2007) 133 1
Excavations in Clay
Richard J. Finno, M.ASCE1; J. Tanner Blackburn, A.M.ASCE2; and Jill F. Roboski, A.M.ASCE3
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Abstract: This paper presents the results of 150 finite-element simulations conducted to define the effects of excavation geometry, i.e.,
length, width, and depth of excavation, wall system stiffness, and factor of safety against basal heave on the three-dimensional ground
movements caused by excavation through clays. The results of the analyses are represented by the plane strain ratio 共PSR兲, defined as the
maximum movement in the center of an excavation wall computed by three-dimensional analyses normalized by that computed by a plane
strain simulation. A simple equation for PSR is presented based on excavation geometry, wall system stiffness, and factor of safety against
basal heave. This PSR equation reasonably represents trends in results of the 150 simulations as well as those simulations reported in
literature. When the excavated length normalized by the excavated depth of an excavation wall is greater than 6, results of plane strain
simulations yield the same displacements in the center of that wall as those computed by a three-dimensional simulation.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲1090-0241共2007兲133:1共30兲
CE Database subject headings: Three-dimensional analysis; Excavation; Clays; Geometry; Stiffness.
Introduction when one can reduce the maximum ground movement estimated
with a semiempirical method on the basis of a 3D effect. Further,
Evaluating the magnitude and distribution of ground movements as inverse analysis techniques become more common in the ap-
adjacent to an excavated wall is an important part of the analysis plication of the observational method to supported excavations
and design process when excavating in an urban environment. 共e.g., Finno and Calvello 2005兲, it is important to know when an
Three-dimensional 共3D兲 effects caused by the higher stiffness at excavation can be adequately modeled as plane strain so as to
the corners of an excavation lead to smaller ground movements distinguish between corner stiffening effects and constitutive re-
near the corners and larger ground movements toward the middle sponses of the soil without resorting to a full 3D simulation of the
of the excavation wall. Another, and not necessarily universally excavation.
recognized, consequence of the corner stiffening effects is that the This paper presents the results of a finite-element parametric
maximum movement near the center of an excavation wall may study conducted to define the effects of excavation geometry 共i.e.,
not correspond to that found from a conventional plane strain length, width, and depth of excavation兲, wall stiffness, and factor
simulation of the excavation, i.e., 3D and plane strain simulations of safety against basal heave on the 3D ground movements
of the excavation do not yield the same movement at the center caused by excavation through clays. The results of the analyses
portion of the excavation, even if the movements in the center are are represented by the plane strain ratio 共PSR兲, defined herein as
perpendicular to the wall. While the former 3D effect is clear in the maximum movement in the center of an excavation wall com-
all field data reported in literature, the latter effect cannot be puted by 3D analyses divided by that computed by a plane strain
evaluated solely by field data. simulation. It is common practice to consider plane strain results
While performance data reported in literature are inherently as representative of deformations near the center of an excavation
3D, common semiempirical methods to define wall movements wall. Ou et al. 共1996兲 originally defined PSR in terms of the
共e.g., Clough et al. 1989兲 based on wall stiffness and factor of width-to-length 共B / L兲 ratio of the wall, and the distance from the
safety against basal heave are based in part on plane strain finite- corner.
element simulations of excavations. It is important to recognize Results of parametric studies presented herein indicate that
the value of PSR is affected by 共1兲 the ratios of the length of wall
1
Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
to the excavation depth 共L / He兲; 共2兲 the plan dimensions of the
Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL 60208. E-mail: r-finno@ excavation, L / B, with L being the side where movements are
northwestern.edu computed, 共3兲 the wall system stiffness 共EI / ␥h4兲 as defined by
2
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M Univ., Clough et al. 共1989兲; and 共4兲 the factor of safety against basal
College Station, TX. heave. Of these factors, the L / He ratio was the most influential for
3
Engineer, GeoSyntec Consultants, Kennesaw, GA 30144. E-mail: the range of parameters considered herein.
jroboski@geosyntec.com
Note. Discussion open until June 1, 2007. Separate discussions must
be submitted for individual papers. To extend the closing date by one
month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Managing Editor.
Background
The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and possible
publication on February 28, 2006; approved on July 28, 2006. This paper The geometry of an excavation is described by its plan view
is part of the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineer- dimensions, depth of excavation, and total height of wall. This
ing, Vol. 133, No. 1, January 1, 2007. ©ASCE, ISSN 1090-0241/2007/1- geometry has a significant effect on the ground response due to
30–36/$25.00. excavation. 3D responses of excavations were reported by Bono
冉 冊
tance to the mesh boundary of 5He, recommended by Roboski
c cot − ⬘3 m
共2004兲. The excavation was supported by three or four levels of E = Eref 共2兲
lateral support. The walls were “wished” into place for all analy- c cot + pref
ses 共i.e., installation of the wall caused no stress changes or dis- where pref = reference pressure equal to 100 stress units and
placements in the surrounding soil兲. Soil was excavated uniformly ⬘3 = minor principal effective stress. Note that finite-element re-
1 m below each support level prior to adding the support. sults previously reported in literature will be compared later in
As shown in Fig. 2, two soil stratigraphies were considered to this paper with results based on the HS model and the given set of
evaluate the influences of distance to a stiff layer and basal sta-
bility on 3D restraining effects. The base case soil stratigraphy
and support system geometry used in this analysis corresponds to Table 3. Wall Stiffness Parameters
the Lurie Excavation 共Finno and Roboski 2005兲 in Chicago, and
Wall
is shown in Fig. 2共a兲. The water table is located at an elevation of
0 m Chicago city datum 共CCD兲. The major difference between Parameter Flexible Medium Stiff
the stratigraphies is the depth between the excavation bottom and
an underlying stiffer clay layer. Fig. 2共a兲 represents a shallower Plane strain FE parameters
depth, resulting in factors of safety against basal heave 共Terzaghi System stiffness, S 32 320 3,200
1943兲 of 1.6–1.8, which are larger than the values of factor of Bending stiffness, 50,400 504,000 5,040,000
safety of 1.28 to 1.42 computed based on the stratigraphy with a EI 共kN m2 / m兲
greater depth to a stiff layer shown in Fig. 2共b兲. Axial stiffness, 3,427,000 34,270,000 342,700,000
The wall system stiffness, S 共Clough et al. 1989兲 is EA 共kN/m兲
Element thickness 共m兲 0.42 0.42 0.42
EI Poisson’s ratio 0 0 0
S= 共1兲
␥ wh 4 Three-dimensional FE parameters
where EI bending stiffness of the wall; h = average vertical spac- Young’s modulus, 8,160,000 81,600,000 816,000,000
E1 共kPa兲
ing of lateral support elements; and ␥w = unit weight of water.
Young’s modulus, 408,000 4,080,000 40,800,000
Values of 32, 320, and 3,200 were used to represent flexible,
E2 共kPa兲
medium, and stiff walls, respectively. The 3,200 value is higher
Young’s modulus, 200,000,000 2,000,000,000 20,000,000,000
than most “stiff” wall systems and represents an upper bound on
E3 共kPa兲
the system stiffness. The depth of embedment of the wall was at
Shear modulus, 408,000 4,080,000 40,800,000
least 20% of the exposed height of the wall in all cases to prevent
G12 共kPa兲
the toe of the wall from excessively deforming toward the
Shear modulus, 400,000 4,000,000 40,000,000
excavation.
G13 共kPa兲
Shear modulus, 1,330,000 13,300,000 133,000,000
Soil and Structural Parameters G23 共kPa兲
Poisson’s ratio 0 0 0
All soil layers were modeled using the HS model. This effective
Element thickness 共m兲 0.42 0.42 0.42
stress model is formulated within the framework of elasto-
While Figs. 4–6 provide guidelines for estimating PSR for the
conditions shown, to quantify more generally the influences of
L / He, L / B, S, and FSBH on PSR, the following equation was
Fig. 5. Effects of support system stiffness developed from the results of the finite-element parametric study:
Fig. 6. Effects of basal stability Fig. 8. Effects of support system stiffness for L / B = 1
冉 冋 册冊
冢 冢 冣冣
He 2006, Geotechnical Engineering in the Information Technology Age,
2.8 x + L 0.015 + 0.035 ln ASCE, Atlanta, in press.
1 L
冋 册
␦共x兲 = ␦max 1 − ⴱ erfc Bono, N. A., Liu, T. K., and Soydemir, C. 共1992兲. “Performance of an
2 He internally braced slurry-diaphragm wall for excavation support.”
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University of Sci and Tech on 11/05/21. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
0.5L − L 0.015 + 0.035 ln Slurry walls: Design, construction, and quality control, ASTM STP
L
1129, D. B. Paul, R. G. Davidson, and N. J. Cavalli, eds., ASTM,
共6兲 Philadelphia, 169–190.
Chew, S. H., Yong, K. Y., and Lim, A. Y. K. 共1997兲. “Three-dimensional
Use of this equation requires only geometry and an estimate finite-element analysis of a strutted excavation.” Computer methods
of the maximum movement. As can be seen in Fig. 11, the and advances in geomechanics, Yuan, ed., Balkema, Rotterdam, The
complementary error function better matches the distributions Netherlands.
for the flexible wall than for the stiff wall, although reasonable Clough, G. W., Smith, E. M., and Sweeney, B. P. 共1989兲. “Movement
agreement is seen in all cases. Eq. 共6兲 was derived based on the control of excavation support systems by iterative design.” Current
observations at an excavation with a flexible wall. It has been principles and practices, Foundation Engineering Congress, Vol. 2,
shown to provide reasonable agreement for movements reported ASCE, Reston, Va., 869–884.
in literature for stiffer walls 共Roboski and Finno 2006兲, however, Finno, R. J., and Bryson, L. S. 共2002兲. “Response of a building adjacent
it is not altogether unexpected that better agreement is found for to stiff excavation support system in soft clay.” J. Perform. Constr.
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a tied-back excavation through clay.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng.,
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sented herein, the following conclusions can be drawn concerning Lee, F. H., Yong, K. Y., Quan, K. C. N., and Chee, K. T. 共1998兲. “Effect
differences between displacements computed by plane strain and of corners in strutted excavations: Field monitoring and case histo-
3D analyses of supported excavations in clays: ries.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 124共4兲, 339–349.
1. The PSR, defined herein as the maximum lateral movement Lin, D. G., Chung, T. C., and Phien-wej, N. 共2003兲. “Quantitative evalu-
behind a wall found from the results of a 3D simulation ation of corner effect on deformation behavior of multi-strutted deep
excavation in Bangkok subsoil.” Geotech. Eng., 34共1兲, 41–57.
normalized by that from a plane strain simulation, depends
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on geometry expressed as L / He and L / B ratios, wall system
analysis of deep excavation.” Proc., 11th Southeast Asian Geotechni-
stiffness, and factor of safety against basal heave, as ex-
cal Conf., The Institute of Engineers, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur,
pressed in Eq. 共3兲. Malaysia, 769–774.
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against basal heave, FSBH, produce lower PSR than excava- deep excavations.” Ph.D. dissertation, Northwestern Univ., Evanston,
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Acknowledgments soil model—Formulation and verification.” Proc., Plaxis Symp.
“Beyond 2000 in Computational Geotechnics,” Amsterdam,
Financial support for this work was provided by National Science Balkema, The Netherlands, 281–296.
Foundation Grant No. CMS-0219123 and the Infrastructure Tech- Terzaghi, K. 共1943兲. Theoretical soil mechanics, Wiley, New York.
nology Institute 共ITI兲 of Northwestern University. The support of Wong, L. W., and Patron, B. C. 共1993兲. “Settlements induced by deep
Dr. Richard Fragaszy, program director at NSF, and Mr. David excavations in Taipei.” 11th Southeast Asian Geotechnical Conf.,
Schulz, ITI’s director, is greatly appreciated. Singapore.