A laboratory and field-monitoring experiment on the ability of anti-slide piles to prevent buckling failures in bedding slopes

Abstract

Buckling failure is a special form of a landslide, and it has been little debated in the literature so far. There have been few studies conducted on this type of slope failure, and the corresponding reinforcement measure research has also been rarely conducted. Therefore, it is nearly impossible to provide systematic guidance for the reinforcement and monitoring of such a slope. In this study, a new type of slope test system is developed, and the reinforcement effect of double-row piles was studied using simplified laboratory tests. Under the conditions of no pile and piles, load tests on the sliding body were carried out, and the ultimate loads that can be borne by the slope sliding body under these two conditions were analyzed. The multivariate information evolution of stress, displacement, and pile deformation under these two conditions were studied using multiple monitoring methods. The results showed that anti-slide piles can significantly improve the ability of the sliding body to withstand external loads. For the condition of no piles, 4 kN/m (20.55 kPa) was the critical value and the critical load the slope could bear reached 10 kN/m (51.38 kPa) after the installation of piles. The first row of piles withstood more load than the second row of piles, and double-row pile reinforcement can effectively improve the anti-slip safety reserve. In addition, monitoring of the deformation of the slope and anti-sliding piles should focus on the position of the sliding body and the slip face. Based on the results of laboratory tests, on-site field monitoring was then conducted on the target slope, including displacement monitoring at different positions on the slope before and after anti-slide pile construction, deformation monitoring of anti-slide piles, and rock stress monitoring around anti-slide piles. Monitoring results showed that the slope deformation and rock mass stress tended to be stable after anti-sliding pile construction, and the anti-slide piles were conducive to a safe state. The results of this study provide a useful reference for the reinforcement and monitoring of buckling failure in an actual slope.