Numerical simulation of soil arching effect in deep foundation pit with different influencing factors

Abstract

Soil arching effect in deep foundation is affected by many factors, but it is not clear for their influence degree. In this paper a theoretical model is suggested to simulate soil arching effect between piles in deep foundation pit with finite element analysis software. The qualitative results show that soil arching effect is affected by many factors. The simulated results shows that pile spacing is the main influencing factor for soil arching effect, and with pile spacing increasing, soil arching effect weakens gradually and finally action of barrier is loss for the soil. Soil arching effect is more obvious with soil internal friction angle increasing, and soil arch shape will change with earth pressure increasing. The effect is small for soil arching effect with contact form between piles and soil.