Finite Element Modeling of the Soil-Nailing Process in Nailed-Soil Slopes

Abstract

The finite element technique has been accepted as a tool for modeling geotechnical complex processes. In this study, finite element (FE) modeling of various stages of the soil-nailing process, i.e., construction stages and overburden pressure stages, is carried out considering different soil parameters, simulating with in-house developed laboratory models. The soil-nailing process built in laboratory models is idealized as a plain strain problem and modeled in PLAXIS software. The laboratory models of the soil-nailing process consist of a Perspex sheet box containing a sandy soil slope, a Perspex sheet facing, steel bars as reinforcement and a steel plate as foundation. The stress–strain relationship of the sand is represented by a Hardening-Soil model. The interface at the soil and nail is described by the Coulomb friction model. The behavior of the soil-nailing process, during the construction stage and under varying overburden pressure and varying soil density, are investigated in terms of displacements of slope and stress conditions in slope soil mass. The slope displacements and stress conditions in slope soil mass are all well presented by the FE modeling and compared with laboratory model test data. The sensitivity analysis of the laboratory models’ dimensions is carried out by three-dimensional modeling of the nailed-soil slope. It can be concluded that the developed finite element model has the potential to simulate the performance of a field nailed-soil slope during construction and working stages and could provide guidance for the construction/maintenance of soil-nailed cut slopes in granular soils/weathered rocks.

A Numerical Study of a Soil-Nail-Supported Excavation Pit Subjected to a Vertically Loaded Strip Footing at the Crest

“…According to Singh and Babu [19], a soil nail embedded at a depth z is subjected to an average active lateral pressure K a γz within an influence area bounded by the horizontal and vertical nail spacings. They used Equation (6) to derive their theoretical value of the maximum axial force of a nail embedded at depth z below the ground surface:…”

“…Firstly, without considering the tension crack, the coefficient of active earth pressure is 0.589; secondly, considering the tension crack and using Equations ( 7)-( 9), the apparent coefficient of active earth pressure is 0.326. Figure 17a presents the theoretical value of the maximum axial forces derived from Equation (6). The value of K a in Equation ( 6) has been replaced by 0.589 and 0.326 to obtain the profiles T Lower and T Upper , respectively.…”

“…After conducting a series of laboratory experiments on a scale of 1:10 to examine the effect of footing pressure, soil type, soil slope angle, foundation width, and position on the nail force, slope lateral displacement, and foundation settlement [4,5], Mohamed et al [6] concluded that an FE analysis has the potential to replicate the behavior of the field-nailed soil slope during the construction and working stages.…”

A Novel Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimized RF-SVR Model for Reinforced Soil Slope Stability Analysis

“…The result found that, with an increase in the height of the slopes, the factor of safety decreased. Various authors have conducted soil slope analyses based on different parameters and reported improved results [18][19][20][21][22][23][24].…”

Response Surface Modelling of Performance of Concrete With Bauxite Laterite Soil and Fly Ash

“…Numerous researchers are currently studying the use of alternative materials [2][3][4][5][6] and techniques [7][8][9][10] to improve construction materials.…”