Centrifugal and Numerical Modeling of High and Steep Geosynthetic-Reinforced Slopes

The stability of high and steep geosynthetic reinforced slopes under its own weight is studied through centrifuge tests and two-dimensional finite element methods. Two centrifuge model tests are conducted on the purpose of exploring the failure trend or failure mode through measuring the variation of settlement and lateral displacement, the vertical stress and the lateral stress of typical cross sections. Based on the fundamental parameters of the centrifuge model tests, two-dimensional finite element models are established to carry out the comparison with the centrifuge tests results. Comparison of the calculated results with measured centrifugal model tests results identifies the rationality of the established model using a finite element method. Furthermore, the rest of this paper focuses on the numerical investigations of the performance and the mechanism of geosynthetic reinforced slopes, particularly the influences of strength of the fillings and the geosynthetic stiffness on the settlement, lateral displacement, vertical and lateral stresses of the whole slope. The results show that the geosynthetic reinforcements have great influence on improving the slope stability and research outcomes provide the theoretical basis for designing the high and steep geosynthetic reinforced slope.