Numerical analysis of embankments on soft clay soil

In terms of bearing capacity, the soft clays may cause excessive settlements under the influence of the load. Due to the low permeability consolidaton settlements can take many years to complete. Therefore, stability and the time required for consolidation are two main design parameters in embankments constructed on soft clay soil. On the other hand, two important features of the natural clays are textural and structural anisotropy. In this study, the analysis and design of embankments will be researched. The methods and models used in numerical analysis of the embankments in literature will be studied. Particularly, different soil models which are proposed in the literature to model the behavior of soft clay will be emphasized. The numerical analysis of the embankments will be carried out by using PLAXIS software package which is based on finite element method and used in the numerical analysis of the embankments. For this purpose, the reliability of the model will be verified by comparing the results of measurements given in the literature for the selected embankments and the results obtained from reanalysis of the same embankments. The behavior of the embankments constructed on soft clay soil and the impact of the structural link deterioration of the clay with anisotropy on embankment behavior will be examined by using SCLAY and MCC soil models in PLAXIS software.