An axisymmetric BNEF method of circular excavations taking into account soil-structure interactions

An axisymmetric BNEF method was proposed to analyze circular excavations. The governing equations of embedded cylindrical diaphragm walls were derived from thin-shell theory. A hyperbolic model was proposed to account for soil-structure interactions. Then, a FEM program was coded and verified using a case study. Overall, the method caught the main trend in the measured results and provided a reasonable estimation for engineering practice. Furthermore, the development of earth pressure and the hoop stress in the walls (ring beams) can be obtained using conventional parameters, extending the ability of the classic BEF method to aid the design of circular excavations.