Experimental studies on the interaction mechanism of landslide stabilizing piles and sandwich-type bedrock

Abstract

The mechanical properties of stabilizing piles are directly affected by the spatial structure of the bedrock of landslides. To effectively reinforce landslides with a sandwich-type bedrock, the interaction mechanism between manually excavated stabilizing piles and the different types of bedrock must be investigated. The research presents experimental models of manually excavated stabilizing piles for two kinds of sandwich-type bedrock structures, namely hard rock–dominant interlayered bedrock (HDIB) and weak rock–dominant interlayered bedrock (WDIB). Six physical models with different bedrock structure types and dip angles θ were prepared to explore the influence of these two parameters on the pile-bedrock interaction mechanism. The mechanical properties of the pile were investigated based on the monitoring results of the earth pressure distributions against the piles and the bending moment distributions. The embedded section of the pile experiences a rotation subjected to lateral soil movement. The center point of the rotation in the HDIB is at a greater elevation than in the WDIB. The earth pressure in the HDIB appears to increase with dip angle θ but is similar to each other in the WDIB. The pile embedded in the HDIB exhibits flexible behavior, whereas the pile embedded in the WDIB exhibits rigid behavior. With the increase of dip angle θ in the WDIB material, the bending moment steadily rises followed by fluctuation. The maximum bending moment of the embedded section increases with θ. These results provide a basis for improving the design of manually excavated stabilizing piles in sandwich-type bedrock.