• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.71-86
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• 2022

In Taiwan, an efficient approach for enhancing the stability of colluvium slopes is the drilled shaft method. For slopes with drilled shafts, the soil arching effect is one of the primary factors influencing slope stability and intertwines to the failure mechanism of the pile-soil system. In this study, the contribution of soil arching effect to slope stability is evaluated using the FEM software (Plaxis 3D) with the built-in strength reduction technique. The result indicates the depth of the failure surface is influenced by the S/D ratio (the distance to the diameter of piles), which can reflect the contribution of the soil arching effect to soil stability. When α (rock inclination angles)=β (slope angles) is considered and the S/D ratio=4, the failure surface of the slope is not significantly influenced by the piles. Overall, the soil arching effect is more significant on α=β, especially for the steep slopes. Additionally, the soil arching effect has been included in the proposed stability charts. The proposed charts were validated through two case studies, including that of the well-known Woo-Wan-Chai field in Taiwan. The differences in safety factor (FoS) values between the referenced literature and this study was approximately 4.9%.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.879-896
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• 2016

A new earth pressure equation considering the arching effect in $c-{\phi}$ soils was proposed for the accurate calculation of earth pressure on circular vertical shafts. The arching effect and the subsequent load recovery phenomenon occurring due to multi-step excavation were quantitatively investigated through laboratory tests. The new earth pressure equation was verified by comparing the test results with the earth pressures predicted by new equation in various soil conditions. Resulting from testing by using multi-step excavation, the arching effect and load recovery were clearly observed. The test results in $c-{\phi}$ soil showed that even a small amount of cohesion can cause the earth pressure to decrease significantly. Therefore, predicting earth pressure without considering such cohesion can lead to overestimation of earth pressure. The test results in various ground conditions demonstrated that the newly proposed equation, which enables consideration of cohesion as appropriate, is the most reliable equation for predicting earth pressure in both ${\phi}$ soil and $c-{\phi}$ soil. The comparison of the theoretical equations with the field data measured on a real construction site also highlighted the best-fitness of the theoretical equation in predicting earth pressure.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.341-358
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• 2024

This paper reports several plane-strain trapdoor tests conducted to investigate the effects of reinforcement on soil arching development under localized surface loading with a loading plate width three times the trapdoor width. An analogical soil composed of aluminum rods with three different diameters was used as the backfill and Kraft paper with two different stiffness values was used as the reinforcement material. Four reinforcement arrangements were investigated: (1) no reinforcement, (2) one low stiffness reinforcement R1, (3) one high stiffness reinforcement R2, and (4) two low stiffness reinforcements R1 with a backfill layer in between. The stiffness of R2 was approximately twice that of R1; therefore, two R1 had approximately the same total stiffness as one R2. Test results indicate that the use of reinforcement minimized soil arching degradation under localized surface loading. Soil arching with reinforcement degraded more at unloading stages as compared to that at loading stages. The use of stiffer reinforcement had the advantages of more effectively minimizing soil arching degradation. As compared to one high stiffness reinforcement layer, two low stiffness reinforcement layers with a backfill layer of certain thickness in between promoted soil arching under localized surface loading. Due to different states of soil arching development with and without reinforcement, an analytical multi-stage soil arching model available in the literature was selected in this study to calculate the average vertical pressures acting on the trapdoor or on the deflected reinforcement section under both the backfill self-weight and localized surface loading.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.829-844
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• 2015

In the current paper the results of a numerical simulation that were verified by a well instrumented experimental procedure for studying the arching effect over a trapdoor in sand is presented. To simulate this phenomenon with continuum mechanics, the experimental procedure is modeled in ABAQUS code using stress dependent hardening in elastic state and plastic strain dependent frictional hardening-softening with Mohr Coulomb failure criterion applying user sub-routine. The apparatus comprises rectangular trapdoors with different width that can yield downward while stresses and deformations are recorded simultaneously. As the trapdoor starts to yield, the whole soil mass deforms elastically. However, after an immediate specified displacement, depending on the width of the trapdoor, the soil mass behaves plastically. This behavior of sand occurs due to the flow phenomenon and continues until the stress on trapdoor is minimized. Then the failure process develops in sand and the measured stress on the trapdoor shows an ascending trend. This indicates gradual separation of the yielding mass from the whole soil body. Finally, the flow process leads to establish a stable vault of sand called arching mechanism or progressive collapse of the soil body.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.599-610
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• 2021

Conduits are commonly installed below the ground for utility conveyance around the world. Vertical load on a buried conduit is an important parameter that needs to be known to ensure its safe design and installation. Consideration of soil arching in load calculations helps achieve a more realistic and efficient design. In the past, considering the arching effect, the design charts have been presented for use by practicing engineers to calculate the vertical load on the conduit buried below the level ground. There are currently no design charts for calculating the vertical load on the conduit buried under a sloping ground. In this paper, an attempt has been made to present the derivation of a generalized analytical expression considering that the soil mass overlying the conduit has a sloping face and the arching phenomenon takes place. The developed generalized expression has been used to present some design charts considering specific values of slope geometry, soil properties and burial depths. Furthermore, analytical results for specific soil parameters have been compared with the results extracted from a commercial software PLAXIS 2D, for a developed numerical model and an independent study.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.127-136
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• 2004

The soil arching in the backfill, which affects the magnitude and distribution of active earth pressure on a retaining wall, has also an effect on the stability and cross-sectional area of the retaining wall. In this study, results obtained from Paik's equation that includes arching effect on active earth pressure are compared with those from Coulomb theory to investigate the influence of the soil arching on active earth pressure, overturning moment, stability and cross-sectional area of translating rigid retaining walls. The comparisons show that the active forces including arching effects are always higher than those from Coulomb theory, irrespective of $\phi$ and $\delta$ values. The overturning moments, shear force and moment on the rigid wall are also higher when considering arching effects than when not considering arching effects. The deviation of shear forces and moments by including and excluding arching effects becomes maximum at the height of 0.02-0.08 times wall height from the base of the wall. Therefore, if a translating rigid retaining walls is designed based on Coulomb theory, the wall may reach sliding and overturning failures due to arching effect in the backfill and the cross-sectional area of the wall, especially at lower part of the wall, may not be sufficient to resist to shear force and moment.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.53-66
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• 2007

A series of model tests were performed to investigate the soil arching effect in embankments supported by piles with geosynthetics. In the model tests, model piles with isolated cap were inserted through the holes in a steel plate, which could be operated up and down. Then geosynthetics was laid on the pile caps below sand fills. The settlement of soft ground was simulated by lowering the plate. As the plate was lowered, the soil arching was mobilized in the embankments. The deformation of both the sand fills and geosynthetics were captured by camera. Also the loads acting on pile cap and the tensile strain of geosynthetics were monitored by data logging system. Model tests showed that the embankment loads transferred on pile cap by soil arching Increased rapidly with settlement of the soft ground. In case of the absence of geosynthetics, the loads acting on pile caps dropped to residual value after peak value, whereas loads on pile caps gradually increased until constant value in case of geosynthetic-reinforced. This illustrated that reinforcing with the geosynthetics has a good effect to restrain the settlement of embankments. Also, the deformation shape of geosynthetics between pile caps was circular. The embankment loads transferred on pile caps can be estimated by considering both soil arching and tensile strain of geosynthetics in embankments supported by piles with geosynthetics.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.285-294
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• 2002

Embankment Piles, which is subjected to damage due to lateral movement of soft ground, can be classified into pile slab, cap beam pile, and isolated cap pile according to the installation pattern of pile cap. In the cap beam pile and the isolated cap pile method, the soil arch is developed by the different stiffness between pile and soil, and most embankment loads are transferred into embankment piles through soil arch. In these two methods, the difference of soil arch is that the soil arch of the cap beam pile method develops like the arch from of tunnel between cap beams and the soil arch of the isolated cap pile method develops like dome between isolated caps. Therefore, theoretical analysis methods on soil arching effect of the cap beam pile and the isolated cap pile method were respectively proposed according to their own arch form considering the limiting equilibrium of stresses in a crown of soil arch. And a series of model tests were performed both to investigate the load transfer by soil arching in fills above embankment piles and to verify the reliability of the theoretical analysis.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.69-88
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• 2000

A relatively simple model of a buried structure response to a surface loading that can simulate a possible opening and closure of a gap between the soil and the structure is presented. Analysis of the response of small and medium scale buried roof slabs under surface impulsive loading shows that the model's predictions are in fairly good agreement with the experimental results. Application of the model to a study case shows the relative influence of system parameters such as, the depth of burial, the arching coefficient, and the roof thickness, on the interface pressure and on the roof displacement. This model demonstrates the effect of a gap between the structure and the soil. The relative importance of including a gap opening and closure in the analysis is examined by the application of the model to a study case. This study results show that the deeper the depth of burial, the longer the gap duration, and the shorter the duration of the initial interface impact, while the higher the soil's shear resistance, the higher the gap duration, and the shorter the initial interface impact duration.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2002.03a
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• pp.101-110
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• 2002

This article summarises the traditional method of soil-structure interaction based on the modulus of subgrade reaction and shows its weakness. In order to avoid these weakness, a new soil-structure interaction model is proposed. This model considers the soil as a set of connected springs which enables interaction between springs. Its use is as simple as the traditional model but allows to define the soil properties independently from the structural properties and the loading conditions. Thus, the definition of the modulus of subgrade reaction is unnecessary as each component is defined by its own modulii (Young's modulus and shear modulus). The non-linear soil behaviour for the shear stress versus distortion is also incorporated in the model. This feature allows to pinpoint the arching effect in the ground and shows how the stresses concentrate on stiff materials. Based on these principles, three dimensional program has been developed in order to solve the difficult problem of soil improvement by inclusions (stiff or soft). Also the possibility to take into account a flexible mat and/or a subgrade layer has been implemented. Equations used in the model are developed and a parametric study of the necessary data used in the program is presented. In particular, the Westergaard modulus notion and the arching effect are analysed.