Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Unsaturated Soil Slope Stability with Rainfall and Jute Fibre Reinforcement Condition

Abstract

Rainfall has become a main trigger of slope failure for embankments in most coastal areas. The common slope stability analysis is incapable of accurately forecasting slides where suction pressures play a critical role. This realization is used for elaborate stability analyses, which include mesh and suction to better predict rainfall-induced slides at effective slopes. Jute fibre is one of the reinforced materials which is utilized to improve soil strength. Accordingly, the present study explores to study the effects of slope inclination on soil stability and the collected soil samples using jute fibre in artificial rainfalls. Therefore, this article presented various assessments for soil sample testing. Different tests like sieve analysis, permeability test, direct shear test (DST), liquid limit, plasticity limit, and numerical modelling were conducted in the laboratory. Geo-studio 2021 is the software utilized for numerical and experimental modelling. The findings of the research revealed that the failure is caused by a soil suction loss when the inclination of the slope is higher than the soil friction angle. Subsequently, when the inclination of the slope is lower than the soil’s friction angle, the collapse is caused at the slope’s toe due to the improvement of the positive water pressure. Furthermore, when the slope angle increases, slopes are becoming increasingly vulnerable to rapid collapse under rainfall. Consequently, the article studies the jute fibre which is combined with soil to improve its soil performance while using two rows, three rows, and four rows of jute. This estimation results that the jute fibre performs better than the without using jute fibre under different rainfall conditions. According to the findings, the random distribution of jute fibres had a favourable influence on both strength measurements and ....