Abstract
To determine the moisture contents of unsaturated clay embankments in southern China considering the stress state, 753 moisture data of three existing embankments for about 20 years were measured, and six frequency domain reflectometry sensors were installed in a widened embankment in southern China to monitor the moisture content. The soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) and stress-dependent soil water characteristic curves (SDSWCCs) were determined in the laboratory using a pressure plate apparatus and a stress-dependent parametric equation was established. The finite element model of a typical unsaturated clay embankment in southern China considering the SWCC and SDSWCCs was created. Then, the variation of the moisture contents of the clay embankment was simulated. The results show that the vertical stress has an obvious effect on the moisture distribution in embankments, especially the positions inside embankments where the vertical stress is large and cannot be neglected. The finite element model considering the SDSWCCs, therefore, should be selected when analyzing the moisture filed of embankments in southern China. For the existing clay embankments in southern China, their moisture contents gradually increase from the optimum moisture content to equilibrium values, which is close to the plastic limit and increases by 99% of the optimum moisture content. In addition, the resilient modulus values at different locations of the embankment and that of the whole embankment are reduced by 55 to 62%. And the safety factor of the slope obviously decreases, and its reduction is greater than 60%.
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Funding
This study was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC0805307), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51838001, 51878070, 51878078, 51911530215, 51927814), the Excellent Youth Foundation of Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2018JJ1026), and the Key Project of Education Department of Hunan Province (17A008). This work was also supported by the Key Project of Open Research Fund of National Engineering Laboratory of Highway Maintenance Technology (kfj150103), the Open Fund of Engineering Research Center of Catastrophic Prophylaxis and Treatment of Road & Traffic Safety of Ministry of Education (Changsha University of Science & Technology) (kfj170404), the Training Program for High-level Technical Personnel in Transportation Industry (2018-025), and the Hunan Provincial Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate (CX2018B527).
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Zhang, J., Li, F., Zeng, L. et al. Numerical simulation of the moisture migration of unsaturated clay embankments in southern China considering stress state. Bull Eng Geol Environ 80, 11–24 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-01916-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-01916-6