Modelling of laterally loaded drilled shaft group in mechanically stabilised earth wall

Abstract

This paper proposes a numerical model, calibrated by a full-scale field test, to investigate the behaviour of a laterally loaded shaft group built within a mechanically stabilised earth wall. The numerical modelling yielded results of the geogrid strain and the lateral earth pressure distributions. It was found that the strain was a maximum at the edge of the each shaft, and decreased rapidly with distance from the shaft. The additional lateral earth pressure induced by the shaft group is non-linear and non-monotonic. The calibrated numerical model was then used to investigate the impacts of various factors on the group effect. It was found that the required minimum spacing to avoid group effect increased with decreasing modulus of the backfill material. The friction angle of the backfill material and the geogrid tensile stiffness did not have a significant influence on the group effect. Based on this study, a formula to estimate the minimum spacing to avoid group effect was developed.

Numerical parametric study of embedded geosynthetic-reinforced soil abutment

“…However, there was a slight difference in the facing deformation and lateral earth pressure behind the piles of T1 and T8 (notpresented herein). Several studies [1][2][3][4] showed that increasing the lateral load on piles with MSE walls leads to greater deformation of the facing wall. However, the interaction between piles and reinforced soil is complex and may be affected by the pile offset distance, pile diameter, and load magnitude.…”

“…Mohammed [2] conducted 18 model tests, and the results indicated that the lateral bearing capacity of the piles could be enhanced by increasing the wall height, reinforcement length, and pile offset distance and decreasing the reinforcement spacing. Huang et al [3] performed a three-dimensional (3D) finitedifference analysis; the results revealed that the minimum pile spacing for the group effect was significantly affected by the modulus of the backfill materials. Based on six model tests, Jawad et al [4] concluded that cyclic lateral loads have a significant impact on lateral pile capacity.…”

Editorial

“…The final paper in this edition, by Huang et al (2014), describes a numerical model calibrated by a full-scale field test for lateral loading of piles within a reinforced earth wall. Several conclusions are made regarding the spacing and interaction of the pile group and the relationship to the state and type of backfill.…”