Numerical Optimisation of Excavation Pit Design Using Finite Element Analyses

Abstract The present study focusses on optimising a single supported excavation pit to achieve a more economical design using finite element analyses. Two methods for automating the derivation of the excavation pit’s necessary embedment depth are presented, which involve either embedment depth reduction using additional calculation phases or adapting the entire model with renewed discretisation. The bending moments as well as the earth pressure distribution along the wall show good agreement, indicating that both methods are suitable for application. Subsequently, the feasibility of using optimisation algorithms (Particle Swarm Optimisation and Differential Evolution) for dimensioning the single supported excavation pit regarding stress analysis of the wall is investigated. Therefore, the embedment depth and the position of the strut are varied for five different sheet pile walls and three different strut profiles. The results demonstrate that both algorithms perform well, particularly with a higher number of calculation steps. After varying iteration steps and population size, the Differential Evolution approach shows better performance compared to Particle Swarm Optimisation by means of finding the optimal solution after a lower number of computational steps.