Load transfers and arching effects in granular soil layer

Abstract

Load transfer and other arching effects are mechanisms frequently met in civil engineering structures, and particularly in geotechnical earth structures such as piled embankments or karstic subsidence The proposed study focuses on the numerical discrete analysis of granular material response submitted to specific boundary conditions leading to load transfer (embankment built over a trench or over a network of piles). The influence of several parameters has been studied: granular layer thickness, friction behaviour and particle shapes. Various load transfer mechanisms are observed depending on the boundaries and also on the granular layer properties. The comparison between three dimensional Discrete Element Modelling and analytical calculation methods leads to a various agreement depending on the case treated.