Shaking table test and numerical simulation on the effect of reinforcement on the seismic safety of dam slopes

The seismic safety of the reinforcement dam slope is studied through shaking table test and numerical simulation.The dynamic characteristics of dam slopes,failure mechanism,seismic stability,as well as the effect of reinforcement during earthquakes are discussed.An elasto-plastic analysis method (FLAC) is used to simulate the dynamic failure process of the reinforcement dam slope.The change law of permanent displacement of dam slope is studied.The effect of the length and the space of reinforcement on the depth of slip surface and the slope stability are investigated.Good agreement is obtained between the numerical results and those from shaking table tests.The results show that the dynamic failure is a gradual process not at a particular time.With the increase of the reinforcement length or the decreasing reinforcement spacing,the slip surface becomes deeper and thus the slope stability is improved.The reinforcement can obviously enhance the overall stability of slope dam.It can also effectively control the shallow sliding of slope.These researches provide basic data for reinforcement measures design of earth-rockfill dam.

Pre-stressed anchoring beam technique applicable in the reinforcement of high-steep slopes

During the construction of some large-scale rock engineering,high-steep slopes and insufficient slope stability induced by unloading fissures are often encountered.For the reinforcement of these slopes,some techniques(including conventional pre-stressed anchoring cable and unconventional anchoring hole)are usually utilized,however,having several obvious defects.Thus,it is very difficult for a designer to design an efficient reinforcement scheme for the high-steep slopes.For this reason,the authors develop the pre-stressed anchoring beam technique,in which tensile capacity of pre-stressed structures are fully utilized.It is analyzed that the new technique is characterized by multi-functions,including engineering investigation,efficient reinforcement,drainage,monitoring and urgent strength supplement,and hoped to be extensively applicable in the reinforcement of high-steep slopes.

Pseudo-static stability analysis of rock slopes reinforced by passive bolts using the generalized Hoek-Brown criterion

The stability analysis of passive bolt-reinforced rock slopes under seismic loads is investigated within the framework of the kinematic approach of limit analysis theory.A pseudo-static method is adopted to account for the inertial forces induced in the rock mass by seismic events.The strength properties of the rock material are described by a modified Hoek-Brown strength criterion,whereas the passive bolts are modeled as bar-like inclusions that exhibit only resistance to tensile-compressive forces.Taking advantage of the ability to compute closed-form expressions for the support functions associated with the modified Hoek-Brown strength criterion,a rotational failure mechanism is implemented to derive rigorous lower bound estimates for the amount of reinforcement strength to prevent slope failure.The approach is then applied to investigating the effects of relevant geometry,strength and loading parameters in light of a preliminary parametric study.The accuracy of the approach is assessed by comparison of the lower bound estimates with finite element limit analysis solutions,thus emphasizing the ability of the approach to properly predict the stability conditions and to capture the essential features of deformation localization pattern.Finally,the extension of the approach to account for slipping at the interface between reinforcements and surrounding rock mass is outlined.

Seismically Induced Slope Instabilities and the Corresponding Treatments:the Case of a Road in the Wenchuan Earthquake Hit Region

On May 12, 2008, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake hit Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province resulted in great loss of life and properties.Besides, abundant landslides and slope failures were triggered in the most seriously hit areas and caused disastrous damages to infrastructures and public facilities.Moreover, abundant unstable slopes caused by the quake have the potential to cause damages for a considerable long period of time.The variety of these slopes and the corresponding treatments are connected with the topographical and geological conditions of the sites.It is decided to document and identify some of these major slope instabilities caused by the earthquake and their treatments.The paper shows the condition of a road in Dujiangyan through in situ explorations.The case history showed significant implications to the reconstruction of the quake-hit regions and future disaster prevention and management works.

Slope stability analysis of Southern slope of Chengmenshan copper mine,China

The engineering geology and hydrogeology in the southern slope of Chengmenshan copper mine are very complicated,because there is a soft-weak layer between two kinds of sandstones.Field investigations demonstrate that some instability problems might occur in the slope.In this research,the southern slope,which is divided into six sections(I-0,I-1,I-2,II-0,II-1 and II-2),is selected for slope stability analysis using limit equilibrium and numerical method.Stability results show that the values of factor of safety(FOS) of sections I-0,I-1 and I-2 are very low and slope failure is likely to happen.Therefore reinforcement subjected to seismic,water and weak layer according to sections were carried out to increase the factor of safety of the three sections,two methods were used;grouting with hydration of cement and water to increase the cohesion(c) and pre-stressed anchor.Results of reinforcement showed that factor of safety increased more than 1.15.

Bearing capacity and settlement of strip footing on geosynthetic reinforced clayey slopes

The effect of geosynthetic reinforcing on bearing capacity of a strip footing resting on georeinforced clayey slopes was investigated.The results of a series of numerical study using finite element analyses on strip footing upon both reinforced and unreinforced clayey slopes were presented.The objectives of this work are to:1) determine the influence of reinforcement on the bearing-capacity of the strip footings adjacent slopes,2) suggest an optimum number of reinforcement and 3) survey the effect of friction angle in clayey soils reinforced by geogrids.The investigations were carried out by varying the edge distance of the footing from slope.Also different numbers of geosynthetic layers were applied to obtaining the maximum bearing capacity and minimum settlement.To achieve the third objective,two different friction angles were used.The results show that the load?settlement behavior and ultimate bearing capacity of footing can be considerably improved by the inclusion of reinforcing layer.But using more than one layer reinforcement,the ultimate bearing capacity does not change considerably.It is also shown that for both reinforced and unreinforced slopes,the bearing capacity increases with an increase in edge distance.In addition,as the soil friction angle is increased,the efficiency of reinforcing reduces.

Application of Vegetation Geosynthetic Technique to Slope Stability in the Three Gorges Reservoir

The vegetation geosynthetic reinforced slope is one of the new composite structures in civil engineering. It has a series of characteristics, such as low cost, convenient construction, optimal land utilization and flexible structure, and it has been widely used in hydraulic engineering, road, railway and harbor construction. The Three Gorges reservoir bank protection system is a challenging work. As the background, the interaction mechanism of soil and reinforced material has been studied. The test engineering is simulated by the numerical methods. The failure mechanism of the reinforced slope in the process is studied through analyzing the variation of the displacement, stress, plastic failure fields and factor of safety in the changing process of the water level. The reasonable evaluation of the protecting effect and bank slope stability is carried out. The research results could be used in the protective design and construction in the high slope in the Three Gorges reservoir region, and it also could provide reference to other protective engineerings in the littoral area.

REINORCING THEORY AND TECHNIQUE OF SLOPE EXCAVATION

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A new method for the stability analysis of geosynthetic-reinforced slopes

This paper is concerned with the stability analysis of reinforced slopes.A new approach based on the limit equilibrium principle is proposed to evaluate the stability of the reinforced slopes.The effect of reinforcement is modeled as an equivalent restoring force acting the bottom of the slice and added into the general limit equilibrium(GLE) method.The equations of force and moment equilibrium of the slice are derived and corresponding iterative solution methods are provided.The new method can satisfy both the force and the moment equilibrium and be applicable to the critical failure surface of arbitrary form.Furthermore,the results predicted by the proposed method are compared with the calculation examples of other researchers and the centrifuge model test results to validate its correctness and effectiveness.

Study of the seismic performance of hybrid A-frame micropile/MSE (mechanically stabilized earth) wall

The Hybrid A-Frame Micropile/MSE （mechanically stabilized earth） Wall suitable for mountain roadways is put forward in this study： a pair of vertical and inclined micropiles goes through the backfill region of a highway MSE Wall from the road surface and are then anchored into the foundation. The pile cap and grade beam are placed on the pile tops, and then a road barrier is connected to the grade beam by connecting pieces. The MSE wall＇s global stability, local stability and impact resistance of the road barrier can be enhanced simultaneously by this design. In order to validate the serviceability of the hybrid A-frame micropile/MSE wall and the reliability of the numerical method, scale model tests and a corresponding numerical simulation were conducted. Then, the seismic performance of the MSE walls before and after reinforcement with micropiles was studied comparatively through numerical methods. The results indicate that the hybrid A-frame micropile/ MSE wall can effectively control earthquake-induced deformation, differential settlement at the road surface, bearing pressure on the bottom and acceleration by means of a rigid-soft combination of micropiles and MSE. The accumulated displacement under earthquakes with amplitude of 0.1-0.5 g is reduced by 36.3%-46.5%, and the acceleration amplification factor on the top of the wall is reduced by 13.4%, 15.7% and 19.3% based on 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 g input earthquake loading, respectively, In addition, the earthquake-induced failure mode of the MSE wall in steep terrain is the sliding of the MSE region along the backslope, while the micropiles effectively control the sliding trend. The maximum earthquake-induced pile bending moment is in the interface between MSE and slope foundation, so it is necessary to strengthen the reinforcement of the pile body in the interface. Hence, it is proven that the hybrid A-frame micropile/MSE wall system has good seismic performance.

Quantitative analysis of biotechnical reinforcement for a steep slope consisting of composite coal-gangue-soil medium adjacent to a mined-out area

The engineering and geological characteristics of a steep slope consisting of coal gangue, rock and soil medium in Huating coal mine have been comprehensively investigated. Owing to humid weather, heavy rainfall, vegetation and porous characteristics of the soil and rock mass, the steep slope will be destabilized and induce mud-rock flow or derive hazard easily. Firstly, based on the classical slope reinforcement theory, some regularity between the shear and displacement in the destabilized zone of the slope with or without root strength contribution is presented. Then, based on the experimental and statistical analysis of root strength, hydrological characteristics and stability status, etc., some possible biotechnical techniques for reinforcement of the steep slope have been suggested. These methods are important for quantitative analysis of destabilization of the slope and design of the biotechnical reinforcement.

Study of Slope Reinforcement Force Based on FLAC

A slope will slide if the unbalanced force does not tend to zero when the stability of the slope is analyzed with the help of FLAC. Thus the ultimate reason of slope sliding is the unbalanced force determined by FLAC. The slope will remain stable if the unbalanced force is counterbalanced by a reinforcement force which is produced by a suitable reinforcement method. In this paper, the stability of the slope was analyzed by using FLAC, and the unbalanced force of the slope was obtained through the FISH function in FLAC. According to the equilibrium conditions, the rela- tionship between the reinforcement force and unbalanced force was derived and accordingly the reinforcement force was determined. The reinforcement design was adopted by using pre-stressed anchor bars on the basis of the reinforce- ment force. An example is used to show that the effect of slope reinforcement based on the reinforcement force is safe and economical. The method doesn’t need to suppose a sliding surface to obtain the reinforcement force, and it is also clear in physical meaning. So this method realized the organic unification of the stability analysis and the slope rein-

Study of Short Column Behavior Originated from the Level Difference on Sloping Lots during Earthquake (Special Case: Reinforced Concrete Buildings)

The disorders originated from architectural design in buildings, show in different forms. One of them is the level difference originated from lot’s slope which affects structures through short column phenomenon. The great stiffness of short columns enables them to absorb large amounts of structural energy. Inattention of some manuals and regulations such as Earthquake regulations to this phenomenon necessitates paying further attention to it. On this basis, the present study employed experimental modeling and numerical modeling for a four-story reinforced concrete building that involves the analysis of simple 2-D frames of varying floor heights and varying number of bays using a very popular software tool STAAD Pro on both a sloping and a flat lot. Also Sap2000 software had been used to show that the displacement of floors is greater for a flat lot building than a sloping lot building. However, the increase in shear was found to be quite greater in short columns compared to common ones and an enormous moment should be tolerated by sloping lot structures. The greater stiffness of the structure was also revealed by non-linear static (Push-Over) analysis. According to the results, short column are required to have more resistant sections and are suggested to be reinforced with more bars. In addition, more steel should be used as stirrups than as longitudinal bars. Also for existing structures, shear capacity of short columns should be retrofitted by FRP, Steel Jacket or other materials.

BEM-LEM Analysis and Monitoring of Unstable Slope During Reinforcement

Taking the excavation and reinrorcemeni of an unstable slope as an example,the slope stability is analyzed firstly in this paper by boundary element method (BEM) combining with limit equilibrium method (LEM). The changing response of safety factor Fmin of slope is known,and tke relation between Fmin and h, slope altitude, Fmin =ahb is drawu. Considering the relation between Fmin, and developing stages of sliding,dynamic stability state of sliding evolutiou is achieved. Based on the above results and in-situ monitoring information, the deformation laws are analyzed,and the slide duration (if not reinforced ) is forecasted successfully by unlted GM (1, 1 )-Verhulst grey model ror the purpose of guiding the correct reinforcement.

Technical Breakthroughs in the Construction of TGP

The huge Three Gorges Project is technically complex. Quite a lot of technical breakthroughs have been made in such issues as river closure of the Grand Channel and the concrete construction of the cutoff wall, prompt concrete construction of the dam, high slope construction of the permanent shiplock, the large scale steel lined reinforced concrete penstocks of the power station, and the temperature and pressure maintenance of the spiral case, the asphalt concrete core wall, the metal works of the shiplock, and turbine generating units.

Large deformation and failure mechanism analyses of Tangba high slope with a high-intensity and complex excavation process

The Tangba high slope is mainly composed of coarse soils and supplies core wall materials for the construction of the Changheba dam. Since the filling intensity of the Changheba dam is high, the Tangba high slope suffers from a high-intensity excavation process, and reinforcement measures are usually not implemented immediately. Moreover, the distribution of useful materials is uneven and insufficient, and the mixing of different soil materials is necessary; thus, multiple simultaneous excavations and secondary excavation are inevitable. In the construction period from 2012 to 2016, large deformations occurred in this area, and one of the largest monitored horizontal deformations whose direction points to the opposite side of the valley even reached more than 8000 mm. According to field investigation, site monitoring and theoretical analysis, the large deformation in the Tangba high slope can be divided into two phases. In the first phase, the excavation construction breaks the original stress equilibrium state; in the second phase, the precipitation infiltration accelerates the deformation. Thus, the excavation construction and precipitation infiltration are the two major factors promoting the deformation, and the high-intensity and complex excavation process is the fundamental cause. Notably, rate of slope deformation significantly accelerated in rainy seasons due to precipitation infiltration; the rate also accelerated in early 2016 due to the high-intensity, complex excavation process. Comprehensively considering the above factors, timely and effective reinforcement measures are essential.

Experimental Study on Performance of Multidirectional Geogrid and Its Application in Engineering of High Slope

By analyzing the grille mechanical property, tensile strength and creep tests, and the fi eld tests, we investigated the characteristics and the reinforcement principle of multidirectional geogrid, and obtained the effect factors of grid characteristics, load and time curve and the shear stress of grille and sand interface. The reinforcement effect of geogrid in combination of typical project cases was illustrated and the following conclusions were presented. Firstly, multidirectional geogrid has ability to resist structural deformation, node distortion or soil slippage under stress, and can effectively disperse load. Secondly, with the increase of tensile rate, grille intensity increases and the creep value also increases with the increase of load. Thirdly, the frictional resistance balance between horizontal thrust of damaged zone and reinforced soil in stable region can avoid slope failure due to excessive lateral deformation. Fourthly, the multidirectional geogrid is able to withstand the vertical, horizontal and diagonal forces by combing them well with three-dimensional orientation, realizing the purpose of preventing soil erosion and slope reinforcement, which has a wide range of application and development in engineering fi eld.

Pseudo-dynamic analysis of seismic stability of reinforced slopes considering non-associated flow rule

The required reinforcement force to prevent instability and the yield acceleration of reinforced slopes are computed under seismic loading by applying the kinematic approach of limit analysis in conjunction with the pseudo-dynamic method for a wide range of soil cohesion, friction angle, dilation angle and horizontal and vertical seismic coefficients. Each parameter threatening the stability of the slope enhances the magnitude of the required reinforcement force and vice versa. Moreover, the yield acceleration increases with the increase in soil shear strength parameters but decreases with the increase in the slope angle. The comparison of the present work with some of the available solutions in the literatures shows a reasonable agreement.

Influence of root suction on tensile strength of Chrysopogon zizanioides roots and its implication on bioslope stabilization

Root tensile strength is an important factor controlling the performance of bio-slope stabilization works. Due to evapotranspiration and climate factors, the root moisture content and its suction can vary seasonally in practice and may not equal soil suction. The influences of suction and root moisture contents were investigated on Chrysopogon zizanioides(vetiver grass) root tensile strength. The root specimens were equilibrated with moist air in different suction conditions(0, 10, 20, and 50 kPa), prior to root tension tests. The root-water characteristic curve or relationship between root moisture and suction, was determined. The increase in suction resulted in decreased tensile strengths of the grass roots, particularly those with diameter of about 0.2 mm, which constituted 50.7% of all roots. For 1 mm roots, the tensile strength appeared to be unaffected by suction increase. The average root tensile strengths were used to estimate the root cohesion in slope stability analysis to find variation of safety factors of a bioengineered slope in different suction conditions. The analysis showed that the critical condition of slope with the lowest factor of safety would happen when the soil suction was zero and the root suction was high. Such condition may occur during a heavy rain period after a prolonged drought.