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Analytical and Numerical Analysis of Additional Stress in Foundation of Bridge Approach Embankment

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Abstract

A good estimation of additional stress of a bridge approach foundation overlying embankment is of great importance in order to accurately calculate the differential settlements of foundation due to the axisymmetric distribution of the additional stress. Current design method commonly adopted in road and railway engineering in China is derived from the classical elastic theory and simply considers the embankment load by its self-weight (γh) without taking into account the influence of the width-to-height ratio. This may lead to an overestimation of additional stress and consequently an uneconomical overdesign. This study attempts to mitigate the gap by developing a new analytical solution. Based on the Boussinesq’s elastic theory, the proposed solution considers a constrained boundary condition associated with bridge abutment and incorporates a new concept of ground reaction, which takes into account the embankment load including the influence of the embankment width-to-height ratio. The proposed solution was finally validated by numerical analysis and shows a better performance in terms of additional stress estimation over the traditional calculation method. Overall, the proposed method proved to be a better alternative tool for the design of bridge approach embankment.

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Abbreviations

p :

Subgrade reaction

h :

The embankment height

h′:

The equivalent height of the embankment

\(\gamma\) :

The unit dry weight of the embankment soil

\(b\) :

The crest width of the embankment

b′:

The equivalent crest width of the embankment

a :

The horizontal distance from embankment shoulder to toe

a′:

The horizontal distance from embankment shoulder to toe for equivalent embankment load derived from ground reaction

B :

The bottom width of the embankment

G :

The deadweight of the embankment

α1,α2,and α3 :

Constants that depend on the type of the foundation soil and the ratio of the embankment slope

P :

The concentrated load acing on the surface of a semi-infinite space

Z :

The vertical distance between the surface and the calculation point O

R :

The distance between the calculation point M and the load point O

\(\sigma_{z1}\), \(\sigma_{z2}\), \(\sigma_{z3}\) :

The additional stresses generated by three components of embankment load (I, II, III)

\(\sigma_{z}\) :

Distribution of additional stress

β :

The intersection angle between the straight line AO and the line AB

φ :

Intersection angle between the straight lines AC and AB

K f :

Coefficient of additional stress of foundation at the front side

K r :

Coefficient of additional stress of foundation at the rear side

δ :

Additional stress ratio

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the financial support from the Technological Research and Development Programs of the Ministry of Railways in China (No. 2010G003-F).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environment and Civil Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, China

    Lijun Wu

  2. School of Civil Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    Guanlu Jiang & Xianfeng Liu

  3. Priority Research Centre for Geotechnical and Materials Modelling, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia

    Xianfeng Liu

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  1. Lijun Wu
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  2. Guanlu Jiang
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Correspondence to Lijun Wu.

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Wu, L., Jiang, G. & Liu, X. Analytical and Numerical Analysis of Additional Stress in Foundation of Bridge Approach Embankment. Geotech Geol Eng 38, 6069–6082 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-020-01414-2

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