Performance of Geotextile-Reinforced Soil Slopes at Failure: A Centrifuge Study(Revised)

摘要

A series of geotextile-reinforced slope models was tested in order to identifythe possible failure mechanisms and to verify the ability of limit equilibrium methods to predict the experimental results. The variables considered in the study were reinforcement spacing, reinforcement tensile strength, and soil strength, which can all be taken into account using conventional limit equilibrium analyses. An extensive testing program was also performed in order to evaluate the strength properties of the sand used as backfill material, of the geotextile reinforcements, and of several interfaces that could influence the performance of the slope models. The geotextile tensile strength was found to depend on the testing boundary conditions, which should be selected to properly represent the in-soil operational conditions. The centrifuge testing provided insight into the evaluation of in-soil tensile strength of geotextiles, which is higher than that obtained using conventional geotextile testing procedures.