Undrained Uplift Capacity of Strip Plate Anchor Nearby Clayey Slope

Abstract

The effect of the nearby clayey sloping ground on the undrained uplift capacity of strip anchor plates embedded in fully saturated clay has been analyzed. The analysis has been carried out by using lower bound finite element limit analysis. The distance (s) between the slope crest and plate is varied from 0 to a finite distance until there is no change in uplift force is noted with an increase in crest distance. The uplift capacity of the plate of width B has been studied for different combinations of (i) embedment ratio (H/B) varying from 3 to 7, (ii) slope angle (β) ranging from 10° to 40° and (iii) the normalized crest distance (s/B). Also the anisotropy and nonhomogeneous behaviors of the clay have been considered in the present analysis. Uplift capacity of the anchor plate has been found to increase with increasing value of the normalized distance (s/B) between slope crest and the anchor plate. The optimum value of s/B beyond which there is no change in uplift capacity of anchor plate has been found to increase with (i) an increase in slope angle (β) and (ii) the embedment ratio (H/B) of the anchor plate. The uplift capacity is also influenced by the anisotropic behavior and nonhomogeneity of clay. The strong vertical anisotropy and the increase in cohesive strength with depth cause more resistance against uplifting in comparison to the pullout resistance in the isotropic and homogeneous clay even in presence of the nearby sloping ground.