Abstract

When vertical shafts are constructed in soft clay with low strength, there is a risk of basal heave, which causes the excavation surface to heave due to the low bearing capacity of the ground against the imbalance of earth pressure at the excavation surface. Methods of deriving a safety factor have been proposed to evaluate the stability against the basal heave. However, there are limitations in that it is difficult to accurately evaluate the heave stability because many assumptions are included in the theoretical derivation. In this study, assuming that a circular vertical shaft is constructed in softclay, the existing safety factor equation proposed through a theoretical approach was supplemented. Bearing capacity according to the shaft geometry, inhomogeneity of the soil, and the effect of soil plug were considered theoretically and applied in a previous safety factor equation. A three-dimensional numerical analysis was conducted to simulate the occurrence of basal heave and review the supplemented equation through various case studies. Several series of case studies were conducted targeting various factors affecting heave stability. It was verified that the additionally considered characteristics were properly reflected in the supplemented equation. Furthermore, the effects of each factor constituting the safety factor equation were examined using theresults of the numerical analysis performed by simulating various cases. It was confirmed that considering the undrained shear strength increment according to depth had the most significant effect on the calculation of the safety factor.