Stability of soil nailed slope using strength reduction method

Abstract

This paper describes the influence of soil nail reinforcement on the stability of slopes through a numerical analysis that uses the strength reduction method. The stability of nailed slopes is evaluated in terms of factor of safety and potential slip surface. In this paper, the dual-spring structure element in the commercial package (FLAC^3D) based on an explicit finite difference formulation is adopted to simulate the characteristics of the nails. A 3D slope model is built to simulate the excavations of the slope and the reinforcement of soil nails. The effects of nail length, orientation, installation location and horizontal spacing on the factor of safety and potential slip surface of the slope, as well as on the nails’ mechanical responses, are numerically investigated.