Jürgens et al.

, Int J Earth Environ Sci 2021, 6: 177

https://doi.org/10.15344/2456-351X/2021/177

International Journal of
Earth & Environmental Sciences
Original Article Open Access

The Design of Geotechnical Structures Using Numerical Methods-

Shear Parameter Reduction Including Structural Elements
Hauke Jürgens* and Sascha Henke
Department of Geotechnics, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg, Germany
Abstract Publication History:

Numerical methods are by now widely used for the deformation prediction of geotechnical structures, Received: January 26, 2021
as well as for the investigation of the serviceability limit state (SLS). Furthermore, numerical calculations Accepted: March 16, 2021
such as the finite element method can also be used for the analysis of the load bearing capacity (ULS) Published: March 18, 2021
in geotechnical engineering. This has been demonstrated, for example, by numerous comparative
calculations on slopes using the strength reduction method. Based on this, in the first section of the Keywords:
paper, the strength reduction method is reproduced using a newly developed Python script and the
results are compared with recognised methods. After a successful verification, this script will be extended Numerical methods, Geotechnical
by means of being able to analyse structural elements regarding their bearing capacity reserves. structures, Strength reduction
method, Python, Comparative
For this purpose, structural elements are modelled using embedded beam row elements inside a calculation, Structural elements
slope for slope stabilisation. To determine the load-bearing reserves of the system, the diameter of the
elements is reduced until failure occurs. For this purpose, a safety factor is defined based on the reduction
of the diameter. For verification, this method is compared with analytical methods via a comparative
calculation. However, there are significant differences in the calculated safety factors, which is due to
the different failure modes investigated in the analysis methods compared (bending, shear and ground
failure). Due to this, numerical methods in our future research will be used to investigate all possible
failure mechanisms in one calculation together to identify the main failure mechanism.
Introduction State of the Art
For the analysis of a deformation to verify the serviceability limit Strength reduction method
state (SLS) of geotechnical structures, numerical methods have been
established in recent years. In this course, more and more complex The basis for the investigations presented in this paper is the well-
structures are simulated in ever larger models in 2D and / or 3D. To known strength reduction method [2] applied in the finite element
create each model, a time effort which should not be underestimated method (FEM) in the program PLAXIS 2D [3].
is necessary. Thus, it is essential to further develop the numerical
methods or the calculation procedures in order to be able to perform Besides this approach, it is also possible to investigate geotechnical
ultimate limit state (ULS) investigations by means of numerical constructions with novel methods such as mathematical topology
methods in the future. optimisation in the form of discontinuity layout optimisation (DLO).
Here, discontinuities in a body are determined in the case of failure
Related to the verification of the overall stability in design approach 3 as well as the associated upper limit load for plasticity problems [4-6].
(DA 3) for slopes, numerical methods already are well accepted.
Detailed information and recommendations mainly obtained on the Another approach is to use mesh-free methods to determine shear
basis of a comparative calculation can be found in [1]. With respect to bands in the soil [7,8]. This is related to the fact that in FEM the quality
the present topic, it is noticeable that the verification with numerical of the results depends on the discretization of the finite element mesh.
methods only refers to one limit state and soil-structure interactions Using mesh-free methods, this disadvantage is circumvented and the
are almost completely disregarded. This is evident, for example, shear bands are identified as strong displacement discontinuities.
regarding the consideration of structural elements, which usually
requires a separate investigation (numerically or even analytically). The approaches mentioned before are alternatives to the FEM.
In addition, the aim of this paper is to improve the FEM, therefore
Therefore, this paper presents a comparative calculation to the programme PLAXIS 2D is used for the presented calculations.
investigate the influence of structural elements on the stability of a Using the strength reduction method the soil’s shear parameters are
slope. The basis for this research is the option of the finite element successively reduced until a limit state is reached where equilibrium no
programme PLAXIS 2D to implement Python scripts via a remote
Corresponding Author: Hauke Jürgens, Department of Geotechnics, Helmut
*
scripting interface. In the first section of the paper, the strength Schmidt University, Hamburg, Germany, Tel: +49 (0)40 6541 3313; E-mail:
reduction method is simulated using a self-developed Python script [email protected]
to be verified by means of comparison with numerical and analytical
Citation: Jürgens H, Henke S (2021) The Design of Geotechnical Structures Using
methods. Subsequently, the Python script is extended, such that Numerical Methods-Shear Parameter Reduction Including Structural Elements.
structural elements can also be considered. Further comparative Int J Earth Environ Sci 6: 177. doi: https://doi.org/10.15344/2456-351X/2021/177
calculations are carried out using the extended Python script. Based
on this, a safety factor is defined and compared with results of Copyright: © 2021 Jürgens et al. This is an open-access article distributed
under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
analytical analyses. Finally, the knowledge gained is summarized and unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the
the use of the implemented technique for future research questions is original author and source are credited.
discussed.
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ISSN: 2456-351X Volume 6. 2021. 177
Citation: Jürgens H, Henke S (2021) The Design of Geotechnical Structures Using Numerical Methods-Shear Parameter Reduction Including Structural Elements.
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longer occurs. This limit state is specified by a Mohr-Coulomb failure φ - c reduction [11,12]. Possible parameters to be reduced beside the
criterion. The method was established in geotechnical engineering in soil’s shear parameters are, for example, the maximum compressible
recent years as it is widely implemented infinite element codes to be strut load or the maximum bending moment of a retaining wall.
used for the ultimate limit state analysis of slopes, dams and hillsides. Another possibility, for example in the case of steel components,
The safety factor calculated by this method is characterized by the is to reduce the yield strength fy, since this is linearly related to the
quotient of the characteristic shear parameters and the reduced shear resistances of the structural elements. In this paper, the possibility
parameters representing the failure state. of reducing the diameter of piles is investigated with respect to a
tan ϕ k' c 'k practical example, since this does not only consider the relevant
=
SFFEM = (1) material parameters, but also the stiffness conditions and the soil-
tan ϕred cred
' '
structure interaction.
As defined by the factor of safety, the shear parameters are reduced
by a uniform factor. For illustration, a soil’s limit state for tan φ' and PLAXIS remote scripting interface
c' is shown in Figure 1. By reducing the shear parameters, a new limit
state condition is defined. This procedure is pursued until a state of The comparative calculations presented in this paper are simulated
failure is reached and equilibrium can no longer be determined. using the FE program PLAXIS 2D. To automate the variation
of parameters for the comparative calculations, the program
In the meanwhile, many comparative calculations with traditional offers a server-based programming interface (API - Application
analysis methods in geotechnics have shown that the strength Programming Interface) based on the Python programming language
reduction method is a capable alternative [9,10]. However, there is [3]. The general procedure for the use of the remote scripting interface
still a need for research, for example with respect to the consideration is shown in Figure 2.
of structural elements. According to the current recommendation of
the Working Group 1.6 "Numerics in Geotechnics" of the German Via the connection to the remote scripting server, a wrapper is
Geotechnical Society (DGGT), structural elements require an opened to edit the Python script. Afterwards, it is possible to control
additional separate consideration when investigating stability only the input and / or the output program of PLAXIS using the script.
using a classical φ - c reduction [1]. The Python script contains the commands that are normally entered
manually in the command line of the program. This makes it possible
Therefore, it has already been suggested to successively reduce to extend the commands with loops, function, etc. Therefore, the
the decisive parameters of the structural elements similar to the remote scripting reference is a versatile and powerful tool.

Figure 1: Stress redistribution due to the φ - c reduction [2].

Figure 2: A schematic flow for using python scripts in PLAXIS 2D.

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ISSN: 2456-351X Volume 6. 2021. 177
Citation: Jürgens H, Henke S (2021) The Design of Geotechnical Structures Using Numerical Methods-Shear Parameter Reduction Including Structural Elements.
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Comparative Calculation
Name Material Unit Material set
In this section, the implemented strength reduction method Unsaturated unit weight γunsat kN⁄m³ 18
programmed in a Python script will be analysed and verified by means
Young’s modulus E kN⁄m² 20000
of comparing the results with results received out of the established
φ - c reduction in PLAXIS as well as analytical methods, such as the Poisson's ratio ν' - 0.3
limit equilibrium method. Friction angle φ' degrees 30
Cohesion c' kN⁄m² 5
Investigating the example of a homogenous slope, the soil’s shear Table 1: Used soil parameters for the comparative calculations.
parameters are successively reduced using a loop in the Python
script. This process is repeated until the program can no longer find a Methods for calculating the safety factor
calculated equilibrium. The safety factor is derived based on the shear
parameters at collapse. The calculated safety factor is compared with The strength reduction method programmed using the Python
the safety factors calculated by the aforementioned methods. On this scripting utility is verified by comparison with well-established
basis, the verification of the Python script is received. methods. In this research, the following three methods are investigated:

In [13], the functionality of the Python script for the strength 1. Method 1: analytical, limit equilibrium method
reduction method has already been verified for a cohesionless soil. 2. Method 2: Python script
Therefore, in this paper, the method is verified for a cohesive soil such
that the cohesion is reduced parallel to the friction angle. 3. Method 3: φ - c reduction

Model information For slopes with cohesive soils, the slope stability calculation is often
performed using the limit equilibrium method according to Bishop
The geometry of the investigated slope as well as the FE mesh [14] which in the present paper is done using the GGU-Stability
used are shown in Figure 3. The slope has a height of H= 10.0 m. program (method 1).
The safety factors are calculated for varying slope angles between
For slopes with cohesive soils, the slope stability calculation is often
β = 15°-30°. In order to guarantee a sufficient mesh fineness in the
performed using the limit equilibrium method according to Bishop
area of the potential critical failure circles, the mesh is locally refined
[14] which in the present paper is done using the GGU-Stability
and overall a very fine mesh is used to overcome mesh dependency of
program (method 1).
the problem.
Regarding the numerical calculation, a safety calculation phase is
Table 1 shows the soil parameters considered in the comparative simulated in PLAXIS starting from the primary stress-state (initial
calculation. The soil is only affected by self-weight loading. Due to this, phase). In this phase, the Python script (method 2) is executed, such
a rather simple constitutive model with a limit condition according to that the shear parameters are successively reduced. The calculation of
Mohr-Coulomb is sufficient for this study. this phase is performed with further reduction of the shear parameters

Figure 3: Discretization of the investigated slope.

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Citation: Jürgens H, Henke S (2021) The Design of Geotechnical Structures Using Numerical Methods-Shear Parameter Reduction Including Structural Elements.
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until failure is reached. Based on the calculated values (minimum Based on the results, it can be noted that the safety factors calculated
possible shear parameters), the safety factor is determined. with the Python script are almost always a bit larger compared to the
safety factors of the program-internal φ - c reduction. For most parts,
The φ - c reduction implemented in PLAXIS 2D is selected for the the results correlate with the results of the analytical limit equilibrium
comparative numerical analysis (method 3). For this purpose, an method. In addition, it can be noted that the deviation between
automatic safety analysis is performed in the program after the initial the results of method 2 and 3 is less than 4%. The results are in line
phase. with the results for a cohesionless slope in [13] where the Python
scripting approach was already verified for cohesionless soil. Since the
Results deviation is also small in the present case, the Python script can also
be considered verified for the analysis of cohesive soils.
The results of the comparative calculation considering the three
previously named methods are shown in Figure 4. In this figure, In addition, the Table 2 shows the calculated safety factors for
the abscissa shows the varied slope angles and the ordinate the selected slope angles and their deviation from the results obtained
corresponding calculated safety factors. using the analytical approach, which is selected as the reference
method for this purpose.

Safety factors [-]

Slope angle[°] Method 1 Method 2 Method 3
25 1.720 (100 %) 1.724 (+ 0.2 %) 1.654 (‒ 3.8 %)
20 2.130 (100 %) 2.128 (‒ 0.1 %) 2.047 (‒ 3.9 %)
15 2.700 (100 %) 2.778 (+ 3.9 %) 2.694 (‒ 0.2 %)
Table 2: Safety factors for the three methods of the strength reduction
method.

Structural Elements in Slopes at Risk of Failure

In this section, the influence of structural elements implemented

in a slope with respect to limit state analysis is investigated using
numerical methods in the two-dimensional case. The structural
elements investigated are dowels which are modelled with a defined
out-of-plane distance (see Figure 5). For modelling of the dowels
embedded beam row (EBR) elements are chosen [3].

To identify the critical diameter in which the stability of the slope is

just still present, the Python script discussed before is extended. The
dowel’s diameter is successively reduced for varying shear parameters.
Figure 4: Calculated safety factors over the varied slope angles for the This procedure is analogous to the φ - c reduction. Thus, at the end
different investigated approaches. of this section the transferability of the pile diameter’s reduction to a

Figure 5: Plan view (a) and section (b) of the slope incl. structural elements (dowels).

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Citation: Jürgens H, Henke S (2021) The Design of Geotechnical Structures Using Numerical Methods-Shear Parameter Reduction Including Structural Elements.
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possible stability analysis, as it is already handled for slopes with the Using EBR elements, it is possible to model beam elements such
φ - c reduction, is checked on the basis of the results. as piles, anchors and soil nails out-of-plane with a centre distance
perpendicular to the model surface in a 2D simulation [3].
It should also be noted that the present calculations are carried
out with characteristic values. No partial safety factors are taken into The functionality of the EBR elements was already tested in
account in either the analytical or the numerical calculation. [15] using comparative calculations. It was shown that the centre
distance between the piles has a decisive influence on the result of
Model information the calculation. Therefore, a maximum distance of up to 6-8 times the
pile diameter is recommended for the centre respectively out-of-plane
For the studies presented in this paper, a slope with a height of
distance (see Figure 7). To investigate this behaviour more closely, the
H= 5.0 m is modelled. The slope angle is β= 32.5° and the EBR
centre distances are varied in this paper.
elements are arranged vertically in the middle of the slope. The length
of the EBR elements is set to L= 5.0 m. In addition, the slope is loaded
In addition, the values for the skin, base and lateral resistance of
by a uniform line load (p= 5 kN/m²).
the EBR elements are specified directly. The parameters must be set
The following Figure 6 shows the geometry of the slope to be carefully, as they influence the calculation result. In order to exclude
analysed as well as the loading conditions. The FE mesh used is also the influence of an automatic determination of these values, they are
shown, for which a local mesh refinement is carried out as already defined with fixed values and not varied: Tskin= Tlat= 1000 kN/m and
discussed regarding the homogenous slope investigated before. Fmax= 1000 kN.

The soil parameters applied in the numerical study are depicted in A pile is selected as option for the EBR elements. Steel is used as
Table 3. Two different material sets are used; see Figure 6 and Table 3. the material so that the plasticising can be considered. The material
To ensure that the critical slip circles are within the slope and that the behaviour is defined as elastoplastic, which makes it possible to
structural elements have a restraining effect, an infinitely stiff soil is include the maximum plastic bending moment Mp and axial force Np
considered below the slope (material set 2). in the material’s definition. These parameters depend on the diameter

Figure 6: Slope geometry and FE mesh for the investigation of structural elements.

Name Material Unit Material set 1 Material set 2

Unsaturated unit weight γunsat kN⁄m³ 18 18
Young’s modulus E kN⁄m² 20000 9999999
Poisson's ratio ν' - 0.3 0.3
Friction angle φ' degrees 25 40
Cohesion c' kN⁄m² 5 40
Table 3: Soil parameters used for the investigation of the influence of structural elements

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Figure 7: Recommended ratio of out-of-plane distance to pile diameter [16].

of the EBR elements such that this value is chosen is to be reduced the slope is no longer stable without additional elements. The
in this study to identify the limiting pile diameter before failure. The present slope fails for the following parameters: φ'fail 1 = 18.32° and
following Table 4 shows the material parameters used: c'fail 1= 3.55 kN⁄m².

Name Material Unit Embedded Starting from this point, the shear parameters are reduced by
Beam Row one percent per each step. In these calculations the EBR element
Diameter D m variable is included. Further reduction of the shear parameters allows to
Yield strength fyd kN⁄m² 235∙103 determine the range in which the load-bearing capacity of the slope
only depends on the material parameters of the structural elements.
Young’s modulus E kN⁄m² 210∙106
Out of this, it can be concluded that the shear parameters can be
Pile type - - Massive reduced by a further 20% based on the shear parameters at failure
circular beam (φ'fail 1, c'fail 1) due to the support of the structural elements. The slope,
Profile area A m² (π∙D²)⁄4 including the supporting effect of the structural elements, fails at:
Moment of inertia I m 4
(π∙D4)⁄64 φ'fail 2= 14.83° and c'fail 2= 2.84 kN⁄m².
Plastic moment of resistance wpl m 3
D3⁄6
Afterwards, failure of the soil above the elements occurs, such that
Plastic bending moment Mpl kNm wpl∙fyd it is no longer possible to achieve a state of equilibrium, regardless of
Plastic axial force Npl kN A∙fyd the choice of the diameter of the structural elements. For illustration,
Spacing Lspacing m (1.5-3.0)∙D
the incremental deviatoric strains of two failure mechanisms are
shown in Figure 8. On the one hand, the Figure 8a describes the state
Table 4: Parameters used for the Embedded Beam Row.
with shear parameters in the range where failure only depends on the
Calculation procedure dowel’s parameters (failure of the dowel). And on the other hand, the
Figure 8b shows slope failure above the dowels. This is due to the fact
As a first step, the slope’s shear parameters are reduced without the that the shear parameters have been reduced to such an extent that the
addition of structural elements until a failure condition is reached. dowels no longer have a stabilizing effect.
This makes it possible to determine the limiting parameters at which

Figure 8: Incremental deviatoric strains for φ'= 16.59°, c'= 3.20 kN⁄m² (a) and for φ'= 14.66°, c'= 2.80 kN⁄m² (b).

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Citation: Jürgens H, Henke S (2021) The Design of Geotechnical Structures Using Numerical Methods-Shear Parameter Reduction Including Structural Elements.
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Furthermore, the range of shear parameters in which the stability The second analytical method used for validation purpose is the
exclusively depends on the material parameters is investigated in more dowel theory (method 3) according to Huder [18,19]. The dowel is
detail: φ'fail 1= 18.32° > φ' > φ'fail 2= 14.83° and c'fail 1= 3.55 kN⁄m² > c'> considered by application of a shear force as an additional retaining
c'fail 2= 2.84 kN⁄m². Regarding this range, the diameter of the structural force. The shear force results from the assumption that the pile fails
elements can be reduced until failure occurs. A safety factor regarding due to bending failure. As a result, plastic joints form above and below
the internal stability of the dowels can be defined by using the starting the critical sliding circle in the limit state. Hence, a stabilising shear
diameter and the limit diameter analogously to the afore discussed force resulting from the deformation can be determined for the dowel
φ - c reduction (method 1). Failure is significantly influenced by up to the failure point (see Figure 9b).
exceedance of the plastic bending moment which depends on the
dowel’s diameter to the power of three for solid cross-sections. Due Results
to this, a safety factor is defined for the dowel with a circular solid
cross-section: The following Table 5 shows the results for a fixed centre distance
3
between the dowels of Lspacing= 2.5 ∙ D as an exemplary case. The first
D column of the table shows the percentage reduction of the shear
SFEBR = 3
k
(2)
D red parameters which is also plotted on the x-axis in the following
To verify the safety factors calculated this way, the results are diagrams (see Figure 10). The reduction is always based on the shear
compared with two analytical methods. For validation purpose, the parameters at failure of the slope without reinforcing dowels (here:
safety factors of all investigated methods are compared with each other. φ'fail 1= 18.32° and c'fail 1= 3.55 kN⁄m²). The calculated safety factors are
plotted on the ordinate considering a logarithmic scale.
With the widely used analytical program GGU Stability (method 2)
The results in the diagrams of Figure 10 show that the calculated
it is possible to implement vertical dowels within the slope [17]. The
safety factors deviate from one another according to the three methods
decisive failure circle is calculated according to the limit equilibrium
investigated (Method 1. - reduction of the diameter in PLAXIS 2D,
method. Therefore, the dowel is considered by applying an additional
Method 2. - limit equilibrium method in GGU Stability and Method 3.
retaining component in the calculation model. This retaining
- dowel theory). The reason for this is that different forms of failure
component can either result from the earth resistance or from the
are examined in the respective calculation methods. Accordingly, the
design force to be applied. The larger component becomes decisive
various forms of failure are discussed below and placed in the context
(see Figure 9a).
of the calculation results.

Figure 9: Theoretical background of the analytical methods: (a) GGU Stability [17] and (b) Dowel Theory [18].

Percentage reduction Friction angle Cohesion PLAXIS 2D Dowel Theory GGU Stability
i [-] φ' [°] c' [kN/m²] SFEBR [-] SFDT [-] SFGGU [-]
1.00 18.32 3.55 1.63 2.21 1.16
0.95 17.46 3.37 1,55 2.12 1.11
0.90 16.59 3.20 1.39 2.04 1.06
0.85 15.72 3.02 1.29 1.95 1.01
0.80 14.83 2.84 1.21 1.86 0.96
Table 5: Safety factors for the investigation of the influence of structural elements.

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Figure 10: Plot of safety factors depending on the percentage reduction of the shear parameters for different centre distances of the structural elements.

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1. Reduction of the diameter in PLAXIS 2D the slope is only stable due to the stabilising effect of the structural
elements. In this range (φ'fail 1= 18.32° > φ' > φ'fail 2= 14.83° and
Regarding the studies with diameter reduction, the soil at the base c'fail 1= 3.55 kN⁄m² > c' > c'fail 2= 2.84 kN⁄m²), the diameter of the
of the slope is modelled with an infinite stiffness (see material set 2 structural element (dowel) is reduced independently of the soil and
in Table 3), simulating a fixed restraint of the dowels. In addition, based on this a safety factor SFEBR is defined. By reducing the diameter,
the shear parameters of the soil are reduced beyond the failure case the soil-structure interaction, that can only be considered realistically
(φ'fail 1= 18.32° and c'fail 1= 3.55 kN⁄m²). Due to this, a ground failure by means of numerical methods, is included in the safety definition.
has already occurred without the supporting effect of the dowel, so
that the stability of the overall system depends exclusively on the However, the comparison of the methods within the context of a
parameters of the dowel. As a result, the entire system fails only by second parameter study considering numerical as well as analytical
exceeding the plastic moment of resistance of the dowel (bending methods results in differentiated safety factors. The reason for this
failure). A check of the calculation results shows that shear failure is that different failure mechanisms are investigated in the three
does not become decisive. methods investigated.

Furthermore, it is shown that in the transition area between ground For the numerical investigation with PLAXIS 2D and the reduction
failure and dowel failure (i.e. at i > 0.95) no clear safety factors can be of the diameter in a slope at risk of failure, some boundary conditions
calculated. This aspect is due to numerical uncertainties during the are considered, such as the infinitely stiff subsoil. Due to this, the
calculation considering two different failure mechanisms possible to dowel is forced to fail due to the plastic moment of resistance being
occur under the conditions investigated. exceeded, thus due to bending failure. A shear failure does not become
decisive. In addition, ground failure can also be excluded, as this has
2. Limit equilibrium method with GGU Stability already been proven due to the reduction of the shear parameters of
the soil in the slope without dowels.
With regard to the applicability of the analytical method
In contrast, the analytical method according to the limit equilibrium
implemented in GGU Stability, it can be stated that it is the only
method using the GGU Stability program investigates the entire
method in which the safety factor reached values below 1.0. This
ground failure of the slope. There, the dowel is only considered in
is due to the fact that the total stability of the slope is investigated
the form of an additional resisting force. The safety factor is defined
considering a combination of soil and dowel. The ratio of driving and
by the ratio of the driving and resisting forces of the critical sliding
resisting forces is determined in the form of the utilisation factor, or
circle. Accordingly, the total failure is determined here on the basis of
the reciprocal of this as a safety factor. The supporting effect of the
simplified calculation models.
dowel is considered in the form of an additional resisting force. An
examination of the dowel with regard to bending failure is not part of The dowel theory assumes a shear failure of the element due to
this method. It can therefore be assumed that the analytical method the formation of plastic joints. On the basis of this, a shear force is
can be used to determine the limit state of failure of the ground (GEO). determined which, analogous to the limit equilibrium method, is
However, it should be noted that due to the necessary assumptions considered as an additional resisting force. Due to the assumption
and simplifications the analytical approach cannot represent the soil- of a shear failure, this is a conventional calculation method and the
structure interaction as realistic as a finite element simulation for safety factors are significantly larger compared to calculations using
example. the limit equilibrium method.
3. Dowel theory Furthermore, the suitability of the diameter reduction method
for determining a safety factor has shown that the development of a
Furthermore, the results in Figure 10 show that the dowel theory holistic analysis for determining slope stability as well as the stability
produces highly conservative results and the safety factor is well on of other geotechnical structures with numerical methods appears to
the safe side. This is related to the fact that the dowels are verified be important. For this purpose, it is important that, in addition to the
with regard to possible shear failure. It is questionable whether plastic diameter, the shear parameters of the soil are also reduced to an equal
joints will form for diameters as small as those investigated in the level. Therefore, the focus of future research lies on the development
present study. Therefore, it remains to be stated that the dowel theory of a method to simultaneously reduce all relevant parameters (shear
is not applicable for such small diameters. In particular, the numerical parameters of the soil as well as structural resistance of dowels) to
calculations have shown that the dowel fails primarily due to bending. identify the most relevant failure mechanism of the reinforced slope
for example.
Summary and Outlook
In this context, the implementation of partial safety factors in the
In this paper, three different methods for the determination of a numerical design approach will take an important role. Regarding
safety factor for homogenous slopes in cohesive soils are presented the strength reduction method, the shear parameters of the soil are
and compared with each other within the scope of comparative to be assigned to the design approach 3 (DA 3) and the reduction
studies. The calculations demonstrate that with the help of the Remote of the structural element’s diameter must be assigned to the design
Scripting Interface in PLAXIS 2D a Python script can be developed to approach 2 (DA 2). In the classical analytical detection methods,
carry out a strength reduction method. the verifications are strictly separated from each other. This strict
separation is not feasible using numerical methods and is therefore
Subsequently, the script is extended to include structural elements. worth to be investigated in future research.
For this purpose, a stability-endangered slope is modelled in which
embedded beam row elements are implemented for stabilisation. Another aspect for future research is to enhance the presented
Using this model, a range of shear parameters was identified in which methods to three-dimensional models. For this purpose, further
Int J Earth Environ Sci IJEES, an open access journal
ISSN: 2456-351X Volume 6. 2021. 177
Citation: Jürgens H, Henke S (2021) The Design of Geotechnical Structures Using Numerical Methods-Shear Parameter Reduction Including Structural Elements.
Int J Earth Environ Sci 6: 177. doi: https://doi.org/10.15344/2456-351X/2021/177

Page 10 of 10

comparative calculations are carried out with the numerical FE

program PLAXIS 3D. Special attention should be paid to the
determination of the safety factor for small out-of-plane distances.

The knowledge gained from these issues is then to be further applied

to excavation pits. The aim is to develop an integral stability analysis
of excavation pits. Therefore, the material parameters of the structural
elements have to be reduced analogous to the φ - c reduction method.
This procedure should allow the identification which component fails
first or which verification is decisive for the analysis.

Competing Interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Int J Earth Environ Sci IJEES, an open access journal

ISSN: 2456-351X Volume 6. 2021. 177