Analysis of Plastic Soil in Contact with Cavitose Bedrock

Drumm, E. C.; Ketelle, R. H.; Manrod, W. E.; Ben-Hassine, J.; ,

Analysis of Plastic Soil in Contact with Cavitose Bedrock

by E. C. Drumm, Univ of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA,
R. H. Ketelle, Univ of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA,
W. E. Manrod, Univ of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA,
J. Ben-Hassine, Univ of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Geotechnical Practice for Waste Disposal '87

Abstract:

A numerical analysis has been conducted to evaluate the stress deformational response of highly plastic soils in contact with cavitose Bedrock. The numerical idealization represents the karst terrain at a site under consideration for the development of an engineered, below grade, waste disposal facility. One of the major uncertainties in the selection of this site has been concern related to massive flow failure of the residual soil into bedrock cavities. An estimation of the limiting diameter of bedrock cavity to preclude plastic flow can be compared with intuitive size estimates, as well as the size of cavities observed elsewhere in the bedrock unit. For a given cavity diameter and thickness of overburden, an estimate of the allowable surface loading may be useful in terms of both facility siting and design. From a foundation design perspective, the prediction of differential settlement of the ground surface due to plastic flow into the cavity may be important.

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