NUMERICAL EVALUATION OF ROAD EMBANKMENT SETTLEMENTS
Abstract
Settlement of embankments represents a major serviceability concern in the design and operation of road infrastructure. Reliable settlement prediction is essential to estimate pavement deformations and reduce maintenance interventions during the service life of the road. This paper presents a numerical assessment of settlements of road embankments founded on soft overconsolidated soils. The analysis is performed using the finite element method and an advanced constitutive model formulated within the critical state soil mechanics framework. Two documented embankments with available field measurements are analysed to evaluate the applicability of the adopted numerical approach. The results indicate that reliable estimation of embankment settlements can be achieved using numerical analyses combined with constitutive models requiring a limited number of parameters obtained from standard laboratory testing.
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