Dear all,
I wonder which structural element is more proper to model the strut behavior in symmetrical and unsymmetrical excavations. Firstly I created a deep excavation model to compare the strut forces, which you can see below. For the first analysis using a fixed-end anchor, I take advantage of the model symmetry while I define the whole geometry for the second model using a node-to-node anchor. The results were somewhat interesting. The anchor force in the first analysis is two times bigger than the one in the second analysis when I define the soil with Mohr-Coloumb. Reworking the analyses with the Hardening Soil model, the anchor force in the first analysis is near 800 kN while the other is 600 kN. There is still too much difference, and the one with the fixed-end anchor gives higher forces each time. I want to know your recommendations about the topic. Which one is more realistic and true to represent strut behavior and what is the reason for this much discrepancy?
Thanks for your help, regards.