Abstract
The instability of earthen embankments caused by subsurface flow draining out of the banks has been a major concern. In an effort to prevent embankment failures, tension resisting synthetic fibers may be an effective additive to increase their mechanical properties such that drainage does not cause failure. In this study, triaxial compression tests measured the increase in peak deviatoric stress with increase in fiber content and length. In addition, laboratory lysimeter experiments (total of eight experiments) were conducted on sandy slopes reinforced with polypropylene (PP) fiber using two different fiber lengths (6 and 12 mm) and gravimetric fiber contents (0.3 and 1.0%) under two different constant piezometric head boundary conditions (25 and 50 cm) maintained in the water reservoir of the lysimeter. Fiber-reinforced sand was compacted in the lysimeter to obtain a 45° slope with dimensions of 55 cm height, 20 cm width, and 100 cm base length. The only experiment that experienced seepage erosion by particle mobilization under 25-cm water pressure head boundary condition was the sand slope reinforced with fiber length and content of 6 mm and 0.3%, respectively. The increase in the water pressure head boundary condition to 50 cm resulted in small-scale sapping of slopes reinforced with 0.3% fiber content, independent of the fiber length. For slopes reinforced with 1.0% fiber content, sapping did not occur, only erosion of sand particles caused by seepage was observed. A slope stability analysis reflected the favorable effect of fiber inclusion, as the increased effective cohesion increased the factor of safety of slopes.
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Acknowledgments
This material is based on work supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) under Grant No. 215M745. The authors would also like to acknowledge the contributions of Halis Şahin, civil engineering laboratory technician at Okan University.
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 5 • May 2018
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©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 9, 2017
Accepted: Dec 19, 2017
Published online: Feb 16, 2018
Published in print: May 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Jul 16, 2018
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