Numerical analysis of a slope stabilized with piles and anchor cable frame beams

A landslide located in northern Sichuan Province, China was investigated. A series of numerical models of the landslide stabilized with piles and anchor cable frame beams were developed using a three-dimensional finite-element method. The Strength Reduction Method was employed to investigate the stability of slopes, the internal forces of piles, and the axial forces of anchor cables. A parametric study consisting of pile position, pile length, and pile spacing was carried out. The results show that compared to anchor cable frame beams, the combination of piles and anchor cable frame beams is a more effective retaining structure to improve slope stability. During slope destabilization, the proportion of thrust shared by piles gradually increases, while the proportion of thrust shared by anchor cables gradually decreases. Piles installed on the leading edge of a trail-mode landslide can make the slope mostly stable. As the piles move from the leading, middle, and trailing edges of the slope, the proportion of thrust shared by the anchor cables gradually increases, while local instability may occur in front of the pile. Increasing the pile length can improve the stability of the slope. However, excessive embedded length of piles has little effect on further improving the slope stability. The critical embedment length of piles found in this study is 1/3 of the total length of the pile. The critical pile spacing found in this study is 2.5 times the width of the pile section. Beyond this spacing, the effective soil arch between the piles is difficult to develop and the anchor cables may share more proportion of the landslide thrust. This study provides a reference for reinforcement system design of engineering projects considering piles and anchor cable frame beams.

Automated summary

A numerical study using three-dimensional finite-element method was conducted to investigate the stability of a landslide in northern Sichuan Province, China. The results show that the combination of piles and anchor cable frame beams is more effective in improving slope stability compared to using anchor cable frame beams alone. The proportion of thrust shared by piles increases during slope destabilization, while the proportion shared by anchor cables decreases. Increasing pile length improves slope stability, but excessive embedded length has little effect. The critical pile spacing is found to be 2.5 times the width of the pile section.