Evaluating the effects of fluctuating groundwater level upon settlement and stiffness of soil using finite elements method

Of parameters for designing foundations is settlement affected by parameters including shape and stiffnessof foundation, sub-grad reaction module, soil type and groundwater level. Groundwater variation hasvarious impacts on different soils. Regarding the different behavior in vicinity of the groundwater level, thepresent paper is to study this behavior at different states. To get this target, a sample of coarse soil wasloaded (around Tehran) in different states of groundwater (inside and outside of slice failure domain)using Plaxis 3D Foundation and a behavior Hardening soil model which its characteristics weredetermined through Plate Load Test. A distribution of settlement and stiffness of soil under foundat ionswas achieved with help of modeling in different conditions. Given the rising underground water levelcauses increasing pore pressure and consequently reducing the effective stress, the underground waterlevel increases settlement and decreases stiffness of soil.

Keywords:

settlement , finite elements method , groundwater level , sub-grade reaction module , Plaxis 3D Foundation