ABSTRACT
This paper presents a numerical study of the landslide of a bridge abutment located in Surabaya, Indonesia. The bridge abutment resting on a very soft clay layer was supported by a number of piles. The abutment and the piles were initially designed to support the bridge and to hold the back-fill material. However, the cumulative lateral pressures created by the back-fill material were able to break the soil-piles-abutment system. This is shown by the result of the finite element analysis. The Finite element method was also applied to the case where a number of piles are added to the initial system. These piles are installed beneath the back-fill material. It is concluded that the finite element method provides comprehensive explanation of the cause of the failure of the initial design system and also describes the stability of the proposed soil-piles-abutment system.
