Abstract
Trapdoor stability has been widely studied by many researchers in the field of tunneling engineering. A general question being frequently asked is that why most sinkholes have a near-perfect circular shape on the ground surface. This could be possibly explained by the current numerical study using finite element limit analysis under axisymmetric condition, where upper and lower bound solutions of active circular trapdoors are determined. The failure study of sinkholes and the associated failure mechanisms in this paper are for non-homogeneous clay with a linear increase of strength with depth under various cover depth ratios and dimensionless strength gradients. A design equation for predicting the stability solutions is also developed based on the novel three dimensional solutions using axisymmetry.
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