Abstract:
This work presents a numerical simulation of the deformation of the earth embankments and soft soil
underlying the Colombo Outer Circular Highway. Finite Element analysis software Plaxis 8.2(2002) is used to
model the long-term creep deformation behavior of soft soil loaded by embankments, with pre-fabricated
vertical drains installed in the soft soil strata. Two constitute models are usedfor the analysis; Mohr-Coulomb
Model to represent the earth embankment and Soft Soil Creep model to simulate the soft sub soils. The actual
three-dimensional problem domain is converted to an equivalent two-dimensional plane-strain domain. AH
field conditions including the load incrementing sequences are simulated, and coupled consolidation/creep
analysis is performed to predict the settlement behavior. Numerical predictions are compared with observed
field settlement records, and agreement is seen between the predicted results and the observed field
measurements, indicating the feasibility of using the numerical model for predicting purposes.
