Effect of Strip Footing on the Behavior of Sheet Pile Walls: A Numerical Study by ABAQUS

Cantilever sheet pile walls are the ancient earth retaining systems extensively used in a deep excavation in congested urban areas adjacent to existing structures. In the present investigation, the two-dimensional finite element method has been implemented to study the behavior of sheet piles under a uniform surcharge strip foundation load placed at different positions from the top edge of the wall in dense sand. Sequential excavation of frontfill soil is done in four layers to incorporate the construction effects during wall installation. The present study has found that a foundation of 2 m width has been the critical one based on maximum wall deformation criteria under surcharge loading irrespective of the foundation's position. A parametric study is performed by varying the wall embedded depth and the foundations position above and below the backfill surface to determine the wall deformation, bending moment, and ground settlement behavior. The wall deflection, bending moment, and ground settlement are maximum when the surcharge load is positioned near the top of the wall. As the surcharge distance increases both above and below the backfill surface from the top of the wall, its effect decreases. The present numerical model validation has been done with available literature.