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Analytical solution for displacement-dependent 3D earth pressure on flexible walls of foundation pits in layered cohesive soil

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Abstract

This paper proposes a calculation method of displacement-dependent three-dimensional (3D) earth pressure on flexible walls of the foundation pits, further considering spatial effects, layered cohesive soil, and seepage effect on earth pressure. Based on improved Coulomb’s earth pressure theory, the displacement-dependent 2D earth pressure model for flexible walls is established. By introducing the concepts of spatial influence factor and plane strain ratio (PSR), the calculation model of displacement-dependent earth pressure on flexible walls of foundation pit considering spatial effects is further proposed. And the displacement-controlled solutions of earth pressure under different boundary conditions are obtained. The proposed solution is verified by numerical simulations and reported test data of foundation pit and shows good agreement. The traditional 2D earth pressure theory underestimates and overestimates the active and passive earth pressure in the corner effect area of the excavation, respectively. Through parameter analysis and discussion, the parameter effects on 3D earth pressure are ranked as soil cohesion > soil friction angle > wall friction angles. The results of the study provide an important theoretical basis for the 3D design calculation of foundation pits.

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The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the financial and technical support provided by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51678112 and 52278332).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China

    Meng Han & Jinqing Jia

  2. State Key Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China

    Meng Han & Jinqing Jia

  3. College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China

    Xiangsheng Chen

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  1. Meng Han
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Han, M., Chen, X. & Jia, J. Analytical solution for displacement-dependent 3D earth pressure on flexible walls of foundation pits in layered cohesive soil. Acta Geotech. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-024-02226-x

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