Numerical study on the behaviour of earthen embankment built on liquefiable soil

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4. Numerical study on the behaviour of earthen embankment built on liquefiable soil

The present study is concerned with the liquefaction behaviour of foundation soil resting beneath the embankment and the effects of liquefaction on the behaviour of the embankment. The FEM-based PLAXIS 2D application is used for simulation while assuming plane strain conditions. Using the UBC3D-PLM constitutive model, loose, cohesionless foundation soil has been modelled. The variation of embankment response has been explored with the variation of the relative density of foundation soil. It has also been investigated that with increasing cyclic loading amplitude embankment crest settlement increases. With the increase in the relative density of foundation soil, embankment crest settlement reduces by 48.48%, 30.65%, and 24.76% in the case of 0.1g, 0.2g, and 0.3g cyclic loading amplitudes, respectively. The toe region exhibits complete liquefaction within a few cycles of loading which mostly contributes to the settlement of the embankment. Later, a seismic analysis for various ground motions was carried out. A linear relationship between embankment settlement and arias intensity of ground motions has been observed. It may be inferred from the untreated embankment model that mitigation of the foundation soil beneath the toe can be a successful strategy in preventing liquefaction-induced settlement.

10th European Conference on Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering (NUMGE2023)

7. Dams, embankments and slopes