Abstract
The stability of slurry trenches constructed in sandy ground has been estimated by a few methods based on the limit equilibrium method. They are, however, insufficiently considered on an assumed shape of failure plane and lateral confining forces acting on a sliding soil mass. The 3-D elasto-plastic FEM that combines a shear strength reduction method to estimate a global safety factor and the shape of failure surface was applied to the stability of the slurry trenches. The applicability of this method was verified by comparing the results obtained from the centrifuge model tests on the slurry trenches with several lengths. In addition, the relationship between mesh size and precision of the safety factor was investigated for actual use.
