Landslide stabilizing piles: Experimental evidences and numerical interpretation

Abstract

A well instrumented field trial consisting of five piles was installed in an active mudslide in the Basento Valley, Southern Italy, and monitored for 3years. The large amount of experimental data (slide movements, ground water levels, rainfall heights, pile displacements and strains) was processed to highlight the influence of the row of piles on the local and overall mudslide displacement field, as well as to quantify the shear forces and bending moments within the piles. The experimental evidences have been back analysed by a 3D numerical analysis (code FLAC3D) to gain a deeper insight on piles' structural behaviour and stabilizing effectiveness. In particular, the 3D analysis has given an indication on the length of mudslide on the uphill side of the piles whose displacements are clearly influenced by the piles. Furthermore, the predicted lateral loads on piles are in good agreement with those deduced by processing the experimental data, indicating the capability of 3D numerical analysis as a research tool to integrate the information obtained by field data.