Deformation and load transmission mechanism of prestressed reinforced embankment subjected to rockfall impacts

Authors

Shu-wen MA, School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China, Department of Architectural & Engineering, Chongqing Industry Polytechnic College, Chongqing 401120, China
Liang LU, School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China, Key Laboratory of New Technology for Construction of Cities in Mountain Area, Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400045, China, National Joint Engineering Research Center of Geohazards Prevention in the Reservoir Areas, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Zong-jian WANG, College of River & Ocean Engineering, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China
Jing-tian WANG, School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China, Key Laboratory of New Technology for Construction of Cities in Mountain Area, Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400045, China
Lan-xing LI, School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China, Key Laboratory of New Technology for Construction of Cities in Mountain Area, Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400045, China

Abstract

The prestressed reinforced soil structure was proposed to solve the problem of large-area depressions of soil highways under rockfall impacts in remote mountain areas. Comparative model tests for prestressed reinforced soil embankment and traditional soil embankment were conducted to explore the deformation performance, mechanical response, and load transmission mechanism of both embankments under rockfall impacts. The results show that the size of pits formed in prestressed reinforced soil embankment is significantly smaller than that in traditional soil embankment, which reflects the good impact deformation resistance of prestressed reinforced soil embankment. The embankment stiffness increases with the increase of impact times, resulting in the change of the time history of impact- induced additional stress in the embankment from “parabolic single peak” to “double peak”, and the “double peak” in the prestressed reinforced soil embankment occurs earlier than that in the traditional soil embankment. The duration of rockfall impact on the prestressed reinforced soil embankment is less than that on the traditional soil embankment, and the distribution of the impact on the prestressed reinforced soil embankment is more uniform, indicating that the prestressed reinforced soil embankment is more conducive to the impact diffusion. In addition, the internal impact load transmission ratio for prestressed reinforced soil embankment increases first and then decreases with the increase of impact times, which is consistent with the deformation law of reinforcement structure. The pit sizes corresponding to various impact times are predicted by the Levenberg-Marquardt optimization algorithm, which can provide reference for the engineering application of prestressed reinforced soil embankment and early warning in collapse disaster prone areas.

Graphic Abstract

Recommended Citation

MA, Shu-wen; LU, Liang; WANG, Zong-jian; WANG, Jing-tian; and LI, Lan-xing (2023) "Deformation and load transmission mechanism of prestressed reinforced embankment subjected to rockfall impacts," Rock and Soil Mechanics: Vol. 44: Iss. 3, Article 5.
DOI: 10.16285/j.rsm.2022.5471
Available at: https://rocksoilmech.researchcommons.org/journal/vol44/iss3/5