An experimental study of pile stabilized infinite slopes under in‑flight pseudo‑static loading

Abstract

Stabilizing piles are considered a prevailing and very effective method of reinforcing slopes. Considering the widespread application of stabilizing piles, many recent studies are devoted to pile-stabilized soil slopes. However, investigation on infinite slopes is very limited. In the present study, the stability of pile-stabilized infinite slopes was investigated by a series of physical modeling under pseudo-static loading, through a beam-type geotechnical centrifuge machine. A tilting table was used to apply pseudo-static loading on the slope models under a constant centrifugal acceleration of 45 g. The models were instrumented using miniature pressure cells, potentiometers, and monitoring cameras. The results of this study confirmed the development of stress arches behind the stabilizing piles. Based on the experimental data, it was concluded that the slope angle has an inverse power relation with the pile spacing. For the material used in this study, a pile spacing of 6.7 times the pile diameter was appropriate for doubling the stable slope angle. Since the results of this study are limited to a specific soil and test conditions, further investigation including numerical modeling is recommended.