Stability analysis of gravity anchor foundation of layered argillaceous sandstone under dry-wet cycles

To investigate the stability of gravity anchors of suspension bridges,in-situ tests of the vertical bearing capacity of the bedrock,shear resistance of the anchor-rock interface,shear resistance of the bedrock were conducted in a suspension bridge project.Under dry-wet cycles,the deterioration law of the mechanical properties of argillaceous sandstone was identified in laboratory tests:the elastic modulus,cohesion and friction of the argillaceous sandstone deteriorated significantly at first few dry-wet cycles and then declined slowly after 10 cycles,ultimately these three mechanical parameters were reduced to about 1/3,1/3,2/3 of the initial value respectively.Moreover,numerical simulation was used to restore in-situ shear tests and a good agreement was obtained.Base on the results of in-situ and laboratory tests,the stability of the gravity anchor foundation under natural conditions and drywet cycles was calculated and its failure modes were analyzed.The results demonstrated that the dry-wet cycles caused uneven settlement of the anchor foundation,resulting in more serious stress concentration in the substrate.The dry-wet cycles remarkably reduced the stability coefficient of the anchor foundation,whose failure mode shifted from overturning failure under natural conditions to sliding failure.When there was weak interlayer in the rock layer,the anti-sliding stability of the anchor foundation was affected drastically.