Analysing Shallow Footing on Compacted Embankment Under Rainfall

Abstract

Using the Barcelona Basic Model (BBM) in the FLAC software, the study examines the behaviour of a shallow footing placed on a compacted, unsaturated embankment. The effectiveness of BBM and the Mohr-Coulomb model in foretelling the consequences of water infiltration is compared. It is predicted that soils modelled using BBM result in higher settlements as BBM is capable of modelling the loss of suction upon infiltration. Using the finite difference method in FLAC, hydromechanical coupling analysis is performed to assess the influence of rainfall infiltration in conjunction with load-deformation response. The two stages of the analysis are as follows: the first stage uses the footing to load the embankment, and the second stage incorporates infiltration. It is discovered that the loading phase is influenced by the net stresses, producing load-displacement curves that may be observed. Suction is a major factor during the infiltration phase, which causes changes in pore pressure. This work emphasizes how crucial it is to take suction effects into account when simulating unsaturated embankments that are prone to infiltration.