Abstract:Post-construction settlement of roadbeds is a critical factor influencing the long-term safety and performance of highways. Accurate prediction of creep behavior is of great significance for ensuring the structural integrity of roadbed systems. However, conventional finite element simulations of creep behavior require extensive meshing for complex structural models, leading to high computational costs and time consumption. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a novel arbitrary polygonal hybrid stress element method (PHSEM) that incorporates creep effects for roadbed settlement analysis. Based on the hybrid stress finite element method and the time-dependent deformation characteristics of roadbed soil, the theoretical formulation of the PHSEM is derived. This element introduces a higher-order stress field, improving computational accuracy. A numerical creep model is further established and validated against results obtained from MARC software. The simulation results show that the PHSEM achieves good agreement with benchmark solutions, with deviations within acceptable limits. Furthermore, the element accommodates polygons with variable edge counts, offering flexible meshing for complex, heterogeneous roadbed models and enabling realistic stress distribution analysis. The proposed PHSEM provides a promising approach for creep modeling in practical geotechnical engineering applications.