FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF EMBANKMENTS ON SOFT CLAY

Abstract

Soft clay soil is characterized by high compressibility and low shear strength, so the settlement is the major problem facing the embankment constructed on soft clay soils and causes an increase in the cost of maintenance. Numerical analysis has been carried out to study some parameters affect the settlement of embankment founded on soft clay such as, the clay thickness (h c) and the width of the embankment base (B), and the stiffness of clay layer. The lateral extrusion due to the settlement of the embankment was also included. The results of the finite element analysis were verified using field and the traditional method results. Numerical analysis was performed using the GEO5 finite element program. Finally, the results of the finite element analysis were discussed in detail.