Numerical study of rheologic and soil damage for ground improvement by vacuum preloading

Abstract

Based on the characteristics and reinforcement mechanism of vacuum preloading applied in high way soft foundation, the theoretical calculation method of vacuum preloading was presented. According to the equivalent method derived from sand drain foundation subjected to plane and axisymmetric conditions, the three dimensional problem was transformed into plane strain problem. The modified Komala-Huang model was used to model the rheological behavior and the damage theory was also introduced to consider the effect of damage caused by construction disturbance. Numerical simulations were carried out for a high way test section. The results show that simulations of the viscoelastic-plastic-damage model are in good agreement with the field measurements. It suggests that the calculation method, simplified load and boundary condition used in this study are reasonable.

Keywords

vacuum preloading / plane stain / FEM / rheology / damage / consolidate