Performance of Test Embankment Constructed to Failure on Soft Marine Clay

Abstract

This paper describes the observed and the predicted performance of a full‐scale trial embankment built to failure on a soft Malaysian marine clay. Predictions of the subsoil deformation, the critical height of fill and the corresponding slip surface are made and subsequently compared to the field measurements. It is of importance to realize that all the predictions were made prior to the actual failure of the embankment. The comparison with measurements was possible only after the International Symposium on Trial Embankments on Malaysian Marine Clays, was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in November 1989, during which the field data were made available to the invited predictors (including the second writer) by the Malaysian Highway Authority. Finite‐element codes based on the modified Cam‐clay theory (CRISP) and hyperbolic stress‐strain model (ISBILD) were utilized to investigate the behavior of the embankment and the foundation soil until failure. The type of numerical modeling includes purely undrained, fully drained, and a coupled consolidation analysis. The finite‐element solutions are subsequently compared with the conventional stability analysis.