Analysis of Effect of Reinforcement on Stability of Slopes and Reinforcement Length optimization

Abstract

Steepening of slopes for construction of rail/road embankments or for widening for other civil engineering structures is a necessity for development. Use of geosynthetics for steep slope construction or repair of failed slopes considering all aspects of design and environment could be a viable alternative to these problems. Literature survey indicates that efforts are being made for optimization of length of reinforcement for overall economy. The present paper details an analysis to optimize the length of geosynthetic reinforcement from the face or near end of the slope with respect to its location to obtain the desired minimum factor of safety. Unreinforced and reinforced slopes are analyzed using Morgenstern-Price method to obtain critical factors of safety. The effect of providing geosynthetic reinforcement layer in shifting the critical slip circle has been identified and quantified. Consequently relatively smaller magnitude of force gets mobilized in the reinforcement.