Abstract
Expansive soil embankments are prone to shallow slope failures caused by associated swell–shrink movements. Previous studies have confirmed that seasonal changes and corresponding volumetric changes are responsible for desiccation cracking, which is a major factor behind shallow slope failures of highway embankments. For the past few years, soil stabilization proved to be an effective way to mitigate the swell–shrink property of expansive clays. The current study addresses the feasibility of guar gum biopolymer in mitigating the swell–shrink behavior of clays and in turn making it possible to adopt them as stable geomaterials. The sustainable benefits of biopolymers far exceed the environmental benefits from conventional stabilizers that contractors typically use. This paper presents a comprehensive laboratory study, followed by finite difference modeling analysis, on biopolymeric guar gum–remediated expansive soils collected from shallow slope failure-prone areas. For this study, two dam locations, at Grapevine Lake and Joe Pool Lake, Texas, that were originally constructed with expansive soils, were considered. The engineering performance of biopolymer-treated soils was evaluated and an optimum dosage was recommended for mitigating desiccation cracking at the test sites. Slope stability analyses were conducted using Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua in Three Dimensions software by adopting laboratory-determined strength parameters to determine the range of the factor of safety for the slopes. The variation of the factor of safety computed with the inclusion of enhanced engineering parameters from guar gum treatments revealed the advantages of adopting this treatment.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
More From: Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.