Modelagem numérica de estruturas de contenção atirantadas em areia

A numerical study on the behavior of tied-back retaining walls in sand, using the finite element method (FEM) is presented. The analyses were performed using the software Plaxis 2D, and were focused on the development of horizontal displacements, horizontal stresses, shear forces and bending moments in the structure during the construction process. Emphasis was placed on the evaluation of wall embedment, tie-back horizontal spacing, wall thickness, and free anchor length on wall behavior. A representative soil profile of a specific region at the City of Natal, Brazil, was used in the numerical analyses. New facilities built on this region often include retaining structures of the same type studied herein. Soil behavior was modeled using the Mohr-Coulomb constitutive model, whereas the structural elements were modeled using the linear elastic model. Shear strength parameters of the soil layers were obtained from direct shear test results conducted with samples collected at the studied site. Deformation parameters were obtained from empirical correlations from SPT test results carried out on the studied site. The results of the numerical analyses revealed that the effect of wall embedment on the investigated parameters is virtually negligible. Conversely, the tie-back horizontal spacing plays an important role on the investigated parameters. The results also demonstrated that the wall thickness significantly affects the wall horizontal displacements, and the shear forces and bending moments within the retaining structure. However, wall thickness was not found to influence horizontal stresses in the structure

Estudo numérico do comportamento de muros de arrimo em alvenaria estrutural de blocos vazados

Usually masonry structures has low tension strength, hence the design to flexural efforts can results in high reinforcement ratio, specification of high unit and prism strength, structural members with larger section dimensions and modification in structural arrangement to be possible to use masonry members. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the stiffness, the efforts distribution and the effect of horizontal elements (girders) and vertical elements (counterforts) distribution on the behavior of masonry blocks retaining walls. For this purpose, numerical modeling was performed on typical retaining wall arrangements by varying the amount and placement of horizontal and vertical elements, beyond includes elements simulating the reactions of the soil supporting the foundation of the wall. The numerical modeling also include the macro modeling strategy in which the units, mortar and grout are discretized by a standard volume that represents the masonry elastic behavior. Also, numerical model results were compared with those ones of simplified models usually adopted in bending design of masonry elements. The results show horizontal displacements, principal and shear stresses distribution, and bending moments diagrams. From the analysis it was concluded that quantity and manner of distribution of the girders are both important factors to the panel flexural behavior, the inclusion of the foundation changed significantly the behavior of the wall, especially the horizontal displacements, and has been proposed a new way of considering the flanges section of the counterforts

Modelagem numérica de uma estrutura de contenção de estacas espaçadas atirantadas em areia

Retaining walls design involves factors such as plastification, loading and unloading, pre-stressing, excessive displacements and earth and water thrust. Furthermore, the interaction between the retained soil and the structure is rather complex and hard to predict. Despite the advances in numerical simulation techniques and monitoring of forces and displacements with field instrumentation, design projects are still based on classical methods, whose simplifying assumptions may overestimate structural elements of the retaining wall. This dissertation involves a three-dimensional numerical study on the behavior of a retaining wall using the finite element method (FEM). The retaining wall structure is a contiguous bored pile wall with tie-back anchors. The numerical results were compared to data obtained from field instrumentation. The influence of the position of one or two layers of anchors and the effects of the construction of a slab bounded at the top of the retaining wall was evaluated. Furthermore, this study aimed at investigating the phenomenon of arching in the soil behind the wall. Arching was evaluated by analyzing the effects of pile spacing on horizontal stresses and displacements. Parametric analysis with one layers of anchors showed that the smallest horizontal displacements of the structure were achieved for between 0.3 and 0.5 times the excavation depth. Parametric analyses with two anchor layers showed that the smallest horizontal displacements were achieve for anchors positioned in depths of 0.4H and 0.7H. The construction of a slab at the top of the retaining wall decreased the horizontal displacements by 0.14% times the excavation depth as compared to analyses without the slab. With regard to the arching , analyzes showed an optimal range of spacing between the faces of the piles between 0.4 and 0.6 times the diameter of the pile