Impact of soil crack on embankment seismic resistance

Abstract

In general, the soil has low tensile strength and easily collapses when it is subjecting to tensile load. The seismic failure of an embankment has several reasons, among these reasons the low tensile strength of soil is very important and needs enhancement. The seismic load acts as a nonlinearity load in multi-direction, and the tensile load creates by the earthquake has a significant influence on embankment failure. In this study, the impact of soil crack on embankment seismic stability is simulated. The reinforced soil was proposed. Controlling soil crack is the main objective for seismic mitigation of the embankment. The crack extension was studying with an association to the displacement and strain variation in the model. The model numerically simulated by the nonlinear finite element method (NFEM). To integrate results of the nonlinear finite element method (NFEM) the statistical models developed. The results revealed the reinforced soil significantly minimizes displacement and strain energy and improves embankment seismic resistance. The crack on the unsaturated reinforced subsoil was minimizing significantly. The novelty of the present work relates to methodology for identify location of subsoil is needed to be reinforced for minimize cost of construction embankment and improve seismic stability of the embankment-subsoil model. The outcome of this nonlinear numerical simulation predicts the embankment failure mechanism. In soil crack simulation for the embankment, the types of the soil, size of steel bar, and location of the reinforcement can be parameters for future research investigation.