Numerical Analysis of Lateral Behavior of Rigid Piles to Support Embankments

The stability of embankments constructed on soft soil is one of the most important issues concerned especially for rapid embankment construction. In practice, piles are increasingly introduced to reinforce the soft soil to achieve the stability of the embankment. Limited research has been conducted so far on the stability of piled-embankments on soft soil especially the failure mechanism. Three-dimensional FDM numerical analyses were performed in this study for an embankment supported by rigid piles. The lateral behavior of piles at different locations relative to the toe of the embankment was investigated. To evaluate possible soil flow, a single pile was placed under the embankment subjected to an additional load up to a limit equilibrium state. The numerical results showed that an increase of the applied load on the top of the embankment increased the soil deformation under the embankment, and eventually caused the soil flow around the pile.