Lower bound solutions for uplift capacity of strip anchors adjacent to sloping ground in clay

Numerical solutions have been obtained for the vertical uplift capacity of strip plate anchors embedded adjacent to sloping ground in fully cohesive soil under undrained condition. The analysis was performed using finite element lower bound limit analysis with second-order conic optimization technique. The effect of anchor edge distance from the crest of slope, angle and height of slope, normalized overburden pressure due to soil self-weight, and embedded depth of anchor on the uplift capacity has been examined. A nondimensional uplift factor defined as F-c owing to the combined contribution of soil cohesion (c(u)), and soil unit weight () is used for expressing the uplift capacity. For an anchor buried near to a sloping ground, the ultimate uplift capacity is dependent on either pullout failure of anchor or overall slope failure. The magnitude of F-c has been found to increase with an increase in the normalized overburden pressure up to a certain maximum value, beyond which either the behavior of anchor transfers from shallow to deep anchor or overall slope failure occurs.