Theoretical and numerical perspectives and field observations for the design and performance evaluation of embankments constructed on soft marine clay

Authors

Buddhima Indraratna, University of WollongongFollow
Iyathurai Sathananthan, University of WollongongFollow
C. Bamunawita, University of Wollongong
A. S. Balasubramaniam, Griffith University

RIS ID

13738

Publication Details

This book chapter was originally published as Indraratna, B, Sathananthan, I, Bamunawita, C and Balasubramaniam, AS, Theoretical and numerical perspectives and field observations for the design and performance evaluation of embankments constructed on soft marine clay, in Indraratna and Chu (eds), Ground Improvement - Case Histories, Elsevier, 2005, 199-230. Original book available here.

Abstract

In this chapter, a two-demensional plane strain solution is adopted for the embankment analysis, which includes the effects of smear zone caused by mandrel driven vertical drains. The equivalent (transformed) permeability coefficients are incorporated in finite element codes, employing modified Cam-clay theory. Selected numerical studies have been carried out to study the effect of embankment slope, construction rate, and drain spacing on the failure of the soft clay foundation. Finally, the observed and predicted performances of well-instrumented full-scale trial embankments built on soft Malaysian marine clay have been discussed in detail. The predicted results agree with the field measurements.