Laboratory-Based Study of Flexible Facing in Soil Nailed Slope

Abstract

AbstractOne of the biggest mishaps occurring in construction industries leading to loss of lives and loss of property is slope instability caused due to various reasons such as adverse climatic conditions, earthquake, lower bearing capacity of soil, high rainfall intensity, and seepage. A recent in-situ technique developed in order to stabilize such slopes is “soil nailing” which incorporates positioning of a vertical reinforcing bar called steel nail into the existing soil slope for the sake of improvising the mechanical properties of the soil. In the present study, a physical model is prepared comprising of a hydraulic jack for load application, a multimeter to record the strain produced corresponding to the respective stress, sensors adhered to the nails, a perplex sheet to observe values of horizontal and vertical deflections, and six number of soil nails arranged in rectangular pattern. In addition to a slope considered without any facing material, four other flexible facing materials were also considered, namely geotextile fabric, coir mat, bi-axial geogrid, and geomembrane. The results are computed and compared in order to depict a clear idea of the strength properties of the flexible materials used. The comparison shows that coir mat withstands a maximum stress of 1.476 N/mm2, while the slope without any facing material takes minimum load of 0.738 N/mm2. Thus, it can be established that provision of flexible facing materials in soil nailing technique further aids in slope stabilization.KeywordsReinforcement of slopesSoil nailingFlexible facingPhysical modelSlope stabilization