Predicting the Impacts of Extreme Hydroclimatic Events on the Behavior of Drilled Shafts: Fid-Bau Portal

Predicting the Impacts of Extreme Hydroclimatic Events on the Behavior of Drilled Shafts

Marathe, Siddharth / Kidd, Nathan / Ravichandran, Nadarajah / Murdoch, Lawrence

In this study, the effect of extreme hydroclimatic events, including heavy rainfall and drought, on the behavior of drilled shaft was predicted using a numerical method and will be validated using the proposed experimental method. For numerical analysis, a new modified Mohr-Coulomb constitutive model, which updates the yield criterion and modulus with changes in the matric suction and/or degree of saturation, was used in the coupled geotechnical-hydrological finite element code PLAXIS 2D. First, a full-scale model with a 1.0 m diameter and 12 m long drilled shaft was modeled separately in the sand and silty sand, then subjected to a constant mechanical load and varying extreme hydrological loads. Then, the analysis was repeated for a small-scale model with a 76 mm diameter and 1.83 m long drilled shaft and compared with the results of the full-scale model. The results indicated significant changes in the bearing capacity of the full-scale drilled shaft in both soils due to hydrological loads. The materials and methods adopted for the experimental method to validate the small-scale model are discussed.