This paper analyses the behaviour of an experimental unsupported excavation taken to failure in a soft clay deposit near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The excavation was originally analyzed by Pontes Filho and Medeiros (1982) assuming undrained conditions. In this paper, the same excavation is analyzed by Biot\u27s coupled theory of consolidation and deformation using linear elastic, non-linear-elastic and elasto-plastic constitutive models and simulating the excavation process in time, without a – priori hypothesis on the drainage conditions. Details of the excavation construction, geotechnical profile and instrumentation are briefly described. Subsequently, the constitutive model calibrations are discussed in view of laboratory tests available. Finally, for each excavation step, comparisons are made between surface settlement profiles, horizontal displacements and pore-pressure measured in the field and analytically calculated
