Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society ISSN:1229-2427(Print) 2288-646X(Online) 한국지반공학회 논문집

Stability of the braced earth wall in the composite ground, which is composed of the jointed base rocks and the soil strata depends on the earth pressure acting on it. In most cases, the earth pressure is calculated by the empirical method, in which base rocks are considered as a soil strata with the shear strength parameters of base rocks. In this case the effect of the joint dips of the jointed base rocks is ignored. Therefore, the calculated earth pressure is smaller than the actual earth pressure. In this study, the magnitude and the distribution of the earth pressure acting on the braced wall in the composite ground depending on the joint dips of the base rocks and the ratio of soil strata and base rocks were experimentally studied. Two dimensional large-scale model tests were conducted in a large scale test facility (height 3.0 m, length 3.0 m and width 0.5 m) by installing 10 supports in a scale of 1/14.5. The test ground was presumed with the base rock ratio of the composite ground of 65%:35% and 50%:50% and with the joint dips for each base rock layer, 0°, 30°, 45° and 60°, respectively. And then finite element analyses were performed in the same condition. As results, the earth pressure on the braced wall increased as the base rock layer’s joint dips became larger. And earth pressure at the rock layer increased as the rock rate became larger. The largest earth pressure was measured when the base rock rate was 50% (R50) and the rock layer's joint dips was 60°. Based on these results, a formular for the calculation of the earth pressure in the composite ground could be suggested. Distribution of earth pressure was idealized in a quadrangular form, in which the magnitude and the position of peak earth pressure depended on the rock ratio and the joint dips.