Embankments constructed on soft ground experience a significant consolidation process as well as an initial deformation in an undrained manner. Especially in the cases of very soft clays and moderately improved soft clays, both strains and geometry changes induced by imposed loadings are so significant that a large deformation analysis is needed for a more adequate treatment of such geotechnical problems.
In this thesis, an updated Lagrangian finite-element formulation was developed for time-dependent consolidation problems involving large deformations. The developed finite-element program provided the results in good accordance with those of ABAQUS and analytic solution. Comparing with large deformation theory, infinitesimal strain theory gives overestimated results both displacement and excess pore water pressure, while yield region, stress and void ratio are estimated almost similarly in both theories. The effects of reinforcement modeled by elastic-truss elements were also investigated. It was found that the effects were negligible on the deformations of the embankment without regional heaving. The application of large deformation analysis in the estimation of the behavior of Muar clay in Malaysia also showed that the estimated deformations were more close to the measured values than those determined by infinitesimal strain theory.
