Assessment of the verification concepts in the next generation of Eurocode 7 for excavation retaining walls in sand using the FEM
Assessment of the verification concepts in the next generation of Eurocode 7 for excavation retaining walls in sand using the FEM
For numerical calculations in conjunction with ULS verifications, the draft of the new edition of EN 1997 (Eurocode 7) distinguishes between the Material Factor Approach (MFA) and the Effects Factoring Approach (EFA). A comprehensive numerical study based on the finite element method was carried out to assess the impact on the design of retaining walls in excavations for persistent design situations. Typical wall systems with different support conditions, groundwater levels, excavation depths, and embedment lengths were analysed. Investigations were restricted to homogeneous sand. Overall, it was found that for this type of soil, both verification methods yield similar results for the sectional forces along the wall. The two variants for the MFA were also compared, and the differences arising from the different initial conditions regarding the reduction of the shear strength values are highlighted. It is shown that the required embedment length differs from that computed by numerical methods due to the different stress distributions assumed along the wall and the additional verification of sufficient ground support in the embedded wall portion.
Elisabeth Seibel; Christos Vrettos; A. Hettler
10th European Conference on Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering (NUMGE2023)
8. Excavations and retaining structures
https://doi.org/10.53243/NUMGE2023-265
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