Strength Characteristics and Slope Stability Analysis of Expansive Soil with Filled Fissures

• Main Authors: Zhangjun Dai, Jianhua Guo, Hongming Luo, Jian Li, Shanxiong Chen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
• Series: Applied Sciences
• Subjects: expansive soil; filled fissure; triaxial test; sample preparation device; strength characteristics; slope stability
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/13/4616

Fissured expansive soils were widely distributed in the South-to-North Water Transfer Project. Most of the fissures were filled with clay, which controlled the stability of the slope. With the method of layered filling—bevel cutting—refilling and a modular design idea, the sample with a filled fissure preparation device for triaxial test was designed. After setting the filled fissures of gray-green clay in the expansive soil, triaxial tests were carried out for the samples with no filled fissures and with filled fissures with inclination angles of 15°, 30°, and 45°. Then, considering the spatial distribution and the strength of the filled fissures in the slope, the stability analysis method for the expansive soil slope with filled fissures was proposed. The stability of a typical slope in Nanyang was analyzed. The results show that the <i>c</i> of expansive soil with filled fissures was about 12 to 15 kPa and the <i>φ</i> was 3° to 6°. Filled fissures had an attenuation effect on the strength of the expansive soil. The larger the inclination of filled fissures, the more significant the effect of soil strength attenuation. The fissured slope stability was controlled by the filled fissures. The sliding surface was affected by the vertical fissures on the top of the slope and the slow-inclined long-large fissures in the slope, and the shape of the sliding surface was a broken line, which was basically consistent with the actual landslide.