Abstract
This study presents a stability analysis of an extended berm reinforced by geotextiles, with a steep slope of 1V:1.1H (vertical: horizontal). Finite element (FE) analyses were carried out to explore the failure mechanism and factor of safety (FOS) of the berm, on which the effect of the strength of geotextiles, leachate level, and anti-slide pile arrangement located at the toe of the berm were considered. It was found that: (1) failure surfaces developed along the interface between the new and the existing berms; (2) the FOS decreased as the leachate increased, and an FOS value of 1.42 could be obtained if the leachate level was controlled at a height of 20 m; (3) the tensile force of geotextiles was far lower than the available strength, which suggested that the geotextile had enough of a safety reserve; and (4) one row of longer piles at the toe of the berm performed better than two rows of shorter piles if the total length of piles was the same. The design and analysis of this project can be used as a reference for landfill expansion. Especially for a site condition with limited space, a geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) berm is a safe, reliable and promising alternative.
Highlights
Geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures used as retaining berms in landfills have been reported by Qian and Koerner [1], Cowland [2], Sochovka [3], Espinoza and Houlihan [4], Eith et al [5], and Gupta et al [6] due to their advantages of simple design, convenient construction, low cost, and accommodation to large deformation; they improve the overall stability of landfill slopes
Qian and Koerner [1] developed a three-part wedge method to analyze the translational failure of municipal solid waste (MSW) reinforced by soil berms that was designed with the aim of increasing
J5%,l is long-term secant stiffness at a 5% strain of the geotextile and T5%,l is long-term tensile sets and parameters with the subscript “reduced” refer to the reduced values used in the analysis
Summary
Geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures used as retaining berms in landfills have been reported by Qian and Koerner [1], Cowland [2], Sochovka [3], Espinoza and Houlihan [4], Eith et al [5], and Gupta et al [6] due to their advantages of simple design, convenient construction, low cost, and accommodation to large deformation; they improve the overall stability of landfill slopes. Performed a finite element numerical simulation to assess the integrity of geogrid-reinforced steep slopes subjected to differential settlement and seismic loading because the finite element method can be used to monitor progressive failure up to and including overall shear failure, without assumption for the locations of slip surfaces. They found that the maximum predicted geogrid strains were indicated to well below the geogrid’s allowable strain values; the failure mechanism was not investigated. The influence on the stability of geotextile strength, leachate level, and anti-slide pile arrangement were considered, with the aim to provide a quantitative safety evaluation and guidance for the application of the technique for GRS berm extension
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