Numerical modelling of pullout of helical soil nail

Abstract

An investigation into the pullout response of helical soil nail using finite element subroutine Plaxis 2D is presented. The numerical modelling of actual pullout response is achieved by axisymmetric and horizontal loading condition. The effect of varying number of helical plates, helical plate spacing and helical plate diameter is studied to understand the pullout capacity behaviour. The failure surfaces for various helical soil nail configurations and their pullout mechanisms are also analysed and discussed. The pullout capacity is found to increase with increase in number of helical plates. The helical plate spacing ratio (s/Dh) and diameter ratio (Dh/Ds) are found to increase the pullout only up to a critical value. The response of helical soil nail using axisymmetric finite element simulation is found similar to the uplift behaviour of helical piles and helical soil anchors. In the absence of literature regarding numerical modelling of helical soil nail, simulation results are validated with uplift responses of helical piles and soil anchors. A good agreement in their comparative study for pullout response is also observed.