Abstract
An evaluation method was presented on the basal heave stability in unsaturated soils. A basal heave failure mechanism was established wherein the admissible velocity field was constructed in the light of the Prandtl failure mode. The shear strength theory based on two independent stress state variables was employed for unsaturated soils. The unified strength theory was introduced to account for the influence of intermediate principal stress. Analytical solution of safety factor (Fs) was then deduced based on the upper bound theory of limit analysis, and relevant numerical solutions were solved by means of the strength reduction method. It is found from parametric analysis that the intermediate principal stress and matric suction have a significant impact on Fs. Specifically, Fs is seriously underestimated if they are ignored. The theoretical framework in this work provides a new idea for analyzing the basal heave stability of unsaturated soils.
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The preparation of this work received financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51804113, 51674115 and 51974118).
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Zhang, Jh., Ling, T., Rao, Yq. et al. Limit Analysis of Basal Heave Stability in Unsaturated Soils Based on the Unified Strength Theory. Geotech Geol Eng 39, 593–602 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-020-01481-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-020-01481-5