Analysis of deep excavations in clay under the undrained and plane strain condition with small strain characteristics

Abstract

The nonlinearity and small strain characteristics of clay are predominant factors to affect the analysis accuracy of surface settlement induced by deep excavation in soft clay. In this study, we use a newly developed constitutive model, namely the undrained soft clay model, to simulate the nonlinearity of soft clay and to describe the degradation of elastic Young's modulus with the increasing stress level, ranging from small strain to near failure. The parameters of the formula can be obtained from conventional soil tests. One well-documented case history is then used to show the parameter determination procedure and validate the proposed model. The states of strain and stress paths for the soil in the excavation are also studied to validate the rationality of the model. Besides, two additional case studies are conducted to verify the model further.