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FEM application to loess slope excavation and support: case study of Dong Loutian coal bunker, Shuozhou, China

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Abstract

The largest coal bunker in China will be built in the Dong Loutian loess region to store coal, and the long V-shaped loess slope of the bunker, more than 60 m in depth, will be excavated. The finite element method of numerical simulation is applied (using linear elastic and hardening soil models) to simulate stability of the excavation slope and deformation with and without reinforcement, with a view to predict the deformation trend, design the reinforcement scheme, decrease the unrealistically large heave at the base of excavation and horizontal displacement of the excavation slope, and ensure the safety of the project. The simulation results show that the stress field redistributes after excavation and reinforcement, and the horizontal displacement of the slope is inhibited effectively, while the soil at the base of the bunker should be emphatically compacted and supported by piles. The field-measured data are in better agreement with the results calculated from the hardening-soil model and the combined support mode of anchor and soil nail. Thus, the results can be used to determine the key deformation range and reinforcing areas for engineering design.

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Acknowledgments

This research is financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41102186, 41072226, 41330643); Opening fund of State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground Engineering (China University of Mining and Technology) (SKLGDUEK 1006); Opening fund of State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection (Chengdu University of Technology) (SKLGP2011K001); the Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin (China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research), Grant No. IWHR-SKL-201217.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Engineering Geomechanics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 9825, Beijing, 100029, People’s Republic of China

    Zhi Qing Li & Rui Lin Hu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Underground Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Zhi Qing Li

  3. State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China

    Zhi Qing Li & Chuan Tang

  4. State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Zhi Qing Li

  5. Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Federal Republic of Nigeria

    Ibrahim Adewuyi Oyediran

  6. Yunnan Highway Development and Investment Co., Ltd., Kunming, People’s Republic of China

    Ying Xin Zhou

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  1. Zhi Qing Li
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  2. Ibrahim Adewuyi Oyediran
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  3. Chuan Tang
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  4. Rui Lin Hu
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  5. Ying Xin Zhou
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Correspondence to Zhi Qing Li.

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Li, Z.Q., Oyediran, I.A., Tang, C. et al. FEM application to loess slope excavation and support: case study of Dong Loutian coal bunker, Shuozhou, China. Bull Eng Geol Environ 73, 1013–1023 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-013-0564-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-013-0564-6

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