Seismic assessment of sheet pile reinforcement effect on river embankments constructed on a soft foundation ground including soft estuarine clay

Conventional seismic assessments of river embankments have focused on liquefaction damage of sandy ground. However, following the 2011 earthquake centered off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku, extensive damage of river embankments built on a clayey foundation has garnered greater attention. This paper presents seismic response analyses of river embankments constructed on soft and sensitive estuarine clay, as well as analyses of countermeasures implemented with sheet piles with a succession of penetration depth and placement. River embankments have kept stable if the clayey ground was assumed to be a nonsensitive condition. However, if a strong shake impacts actual sensitive clay, there is a risk of slippage generated from the clayey layer. If the penetration depth of piles is shallow in the clayey layer, the clay is strongly disturbed by the tip of the pile, generating extensive damage; if the penetration depth is sufficiently deep in the supporting layer, significant deformation control may be obtained at the reinforced side, although there is a risk of promoting deformation at the opposite side. These results indicate the importance of the specific inspection of pile penetration depth; otherwise, not only is it not possible to obtain a sufficient countermeasure effect, but also an adverse effect may be generated.