Centrifuge modeling of geotextile-reinforced cohesive slopes

Abstract

Geosynthetics are widely used to reinforce slopes due to their successful performance and economical efficiency. A series of centrifuge model tests was conducted in order to investigate the behavior of the geotextile-reinforced cohesive slopes and to compare their behavior to unreinforced slopes. The displacement history of the slopes was measured using an image analysis system. The failure process of an unreinforced slope can be categorized into three stages: (1) uniform deformation stage; (2) strain localization stage; and (3) post-failure stage. The geotextile has a significant effect on the deformation of the slope and increases the stability level while affecting the failure modes. On a reinforced slope, two surfaces can result from the distribution of the displacement difference between the unreinforced and the corresponding reinforced slopes; thus, the slope can be categorized into three zones. The front zone is characterized as a restricted region that is subjected to a backward tension via the geotextile while the middle zone is mainly subjected to a forward tension (like a support body). The back zone is unaffected by the geotextile. The reinforcement can take effect when its length is longer than the effective reinforcement length. The effective reinforcement length usually increases with increasing elevation and is significantly affected by the inclination of the slope. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.