Eighth International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering
Stabilization of Rainfall-Induced Slope Failure and Pavement Distresses Using Recycled Plastic Pins and Modified Moisture Barrier
Publication: Geo-Congress 2019: Embankments, Dams, and Slopes (GSP 305)
ABSTRACT
In many parts of Texas, particularly North Texas, pavements are constructed on highly plastic expansive clay subgrades with fill embankment slopes. Desiccation cracks often appear in these pavements due to cyclic swelling and shrinkage of the expansive clayey subgrade. These cracks offer a suitable gateway for rainwater infiltration which ultimately leads to shallow slope failure. The objective of the current paper is to propose a two-step mechanism to combat rainfall-induced shallow slope failure at U.S. Highway 287 located in Midlothian, Texas. The two-step mechanism includes the installation of recycled plastic pins for lateral stabilization of the slope followed by the installation of a modified moisture barrier for preventing the infiltration of rainwater through desiccation cracks. To evaluate and compare the effectiveness of the proposed two-step mechanism, three sections were installed in July 2017: the control section, the section with recycled plastic pins only, and the section with modified moisture barrier and recycled plastic pins. The performance of these sections was monitored using moisture sensors installed at different depths and an inclinometer installed at each section. Moreover, to evaluate the moisture variation at each of these sections, resistivity imaging (RI) was conducted on a monthly basis. Based on the analysis of preliminary results, the slope section with the modified moisture barrier showed insignificant moisture variation in subgrade soil while, for the section without the modified moisture barrier, the moisture variation ranged between 10% and 35%. In addition, a lateral deformation of 8.23 mm was observed in the slope section with recycled plastic pins and modified moisture barrier while a lateral deformation of 25.25 mm was observed in the section without recycled plastic pins and modified moisture barrier.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this chapter.
ACKNOWLEGEMENT
The authors would like to express their gratitude for the funding and support provided by Texas Department of Transportation that made this research possible.
REFERENCES
Ahmed, A., Hossain, M. S., Khan, M. S., and Greenwood, K. (2018). “Use of Modified Moisture Barrier to Reduce Subsurface Moisture in Flexible Pavement in North Texas.” 97th Annual Meeting of Transportation Research Board, Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C.
Browning, G. (1999). Evaluation of Soil Moisture Barrier. Report No. FHWA/MS-DOT-RD-99-21 & 23, Jackson, MS.
Christopher, B., Hayden, S., and Zhao, A. (2000). “Roadway Base and Subgrade Geocomposite Drainage Layers.” Testing and Performance of Geosynthetics in Subsurface Drainage, ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, 35-35–17.
Dessouky, S. H., Oh, J., Ilias, M., Lee, S. I., and Park, D. (2015). “Investigation of Various Pavement Repairs in Low-Volume Roads over Expansive Soil.” Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 29(6), 04014146.
Dunnicliff, J., and Green, G. E. (1993). Geotechnical instrumentation for monitoring field performance. John Wiley & Sons.
Elseifi, M., Al-Qadi, I., Loulizi, A., and Wilkes, J. (2001a). “Performance of Geocomposite Membrane as Pavement Moisture Barrier.” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1772, 168–173.
Elseifi, M., Al-Qadi, I., Loulizi, A., and Wilkes, J. (2001b). “Performance of Geocomposite Membrane as Pavement Moisture Barrier.” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1772(01), 168–173.
Hedayati, M., Hossain, M. S., Mehdibeigi, A., and Thian, B. (2014). “Real-Time Modeling of Moisture Distribution in Subgrade Soils.” Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers, American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA, 3015–3024.
Hedayati, M., and Hossain, S. (2015). “Data based model to estimate subgrade moisture variation case study: Low volume pavement in North Texas.” Transportation Geotechnics, Elsevier Ltd, 3, 48–57.
Henry, K. S., Stormont, J. C., Barna, L. A., and RAMOS, R. D. (2002). “Geocoposite Capillary Barrier Drain for Unsaturated Drainage of Pavement.” Geosynthetics: State of the Art-Recent Developments. Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Geosynthetics, 7-ICG, AA Balkema, Nice, France, 877–80.
Hossain, S., Khan, S., and Kibria, G. (2017). Sustainable Slope Stabilisation using Recycled Plastic Pins. CRC Press.
Khan, M. S., Hossain, M. S., and Kibria, G. (2016). “Slope Stabilization Using Recycled Plastic Pins.” Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 30(3), 04015054.
Khan, M. S., Hossain, S., Ahmed, A., and Faysal, M. (2017). “Investigation of a shallow slope failure on expansive clay in Texas.” Engineering Geology, Elsevier B.V., 219, 118–129.
Loehr, J. E., and Bowders, J. J. (2007). Slope Stabilization Using Recycled Plastic Pins – Phase III. Final Report, Springfeld, VA.
Nelson, J. D., and Miller, D. J. (1992). Expansive Soils Problems and Practice in Foundation and Pavement Engineering. Courier Companies Inc.
Steinberg, M. L. (1989). Further Monitoring of Twelve Geomembrane Sites in Texas DHT-18. Austin, TX.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Geo-Congress 2019: Embankments, Dams, and Slopes (GSP 305)
Pages: 237 - 246
Editors: Christopher L. Meehan, Ph.D., University of Delaware, Sanjeev Kumar, Ph.D., Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Miguel A. Pando, Ph.D., University of North Carolina Charlotte, and Joseph T. Coe, Ph.D., Temple University
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8207-0
Copyright
© 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Mar 21, 2019
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Analysis (by type)
- Climates
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Environmental engineering
- Failure analysis
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Gravels
- Infrastructure
- Materials engineering
- Meteorology
- Pavement condition
- Pavements
- Plastics
- Precipitation
- Rainfall
- Recycling
- Slope stability
- Slopes
- Soil mechanics
- Soil properties
- Soil water
- Synthetic materials
- Transportation engineering
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.