Analytical method for evaluating the tensioned membrane effect in the geosynthetic-reinforced unsaturated embankment soil subjected to localized sinkholes

Abstract

In karst regions, the occurrence of sinkholes is a common cause of roadway failures, leading to significant embankment deformation and instability. The advantages of geosynthetic reinforcement have been proven in practice in numerous countermeasures to lessen the impact of localized sinkholes, and associated design methodologies have been developed. However, some existing design methods assume there is no deformation in geosynthetics embedded in soils, and the effect of matric suction in soils is not considered either. This study suggested an analytical approach that took into account the strain in the geosynthetic reinforcements as well as the impact of matric suction. The developed design method was used to conduct parameter studies under various matric suction conditions. The method was validated against the experimental results, and the feasibility of the developed method was also compared with the existing design methods. The findings demonstrate that, in comparison to the method created here, existing design methodologies produce more conservative results. The strain and the deflection of the geosynthetic calculated using the suggested method are lower than those provided by the current design methodologies.

Keywords:

• Localized sinkholes
• geosynthetic reinforcement
• matric suction
• embankment
• soil arching effect

Notation

The following symbols are used in this paper:

Data availability statement

All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52008285) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52208362). The authors would like to acknowledge the financial supports.