Three-dimensional analysis of anchored wall with concrete bearing pads

Purpose: Anchorage with concrete bearing pad is commonly used in Iran for stabilization of excavations because of the ease of construction, less costs and less time consumption than the soldier pile method. In this method, a wall facing which includes the concrete bearing pads at the location of the anchors and a shotcrete layer between the bearing pads is constructed parallel to the excavation operation similar to the nailing method. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, using the finite element software Abaqus, a three-dimensional model of the above-mentioned type of wall is constructed, and the effect of spacing and size of bearing pads on the wall behavior is discussed. Findings: According to the obtained results, the size of the concrete bearing pads has little effect on wall deformations, but the internal forces and bending moments developed in the shotcrete layer between the bearing pads are greatly influenced by the bearing pads dimensions and spacing. Originality/value: Owing to the discrete elements of the wall facing, the behavior of this system is completely three-dimensional.