Abstract
In order to efficiently reduce the impact of rockfall, a novel shed tunnel protection system combined with geogrid reinforced soil and Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) geofoam was proposed. Transient dynamic procedures of rockfall impact were computationally analyzed by finite element methods to investigate the effects of various factors such as geogrid strength, number of geogrid layers, and height of EPS and soil cushions. A three-layered cushion system with geogrid reinforced soil and EPS can efficiently absorb the energy from rockfalls. The number and the strength of geogrid layers, as well as the height of the EPS layer have a great influence on reducing impact force and deflection of the rock-shed structure.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdesssemed, M., Kenai, S., and Bali, A. (2015). “Experimental and numerical analysis of the behavior of an airport pavement reinforced by geogrids.” Construction and Building Materials, Vol. 94, pp. 547–554, DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.07.037.
Balakrishnan, S. and Viswanadham, B. V. S. (2016). “Performance evaluation of geogrid reinforced soil walls with marginal backfills through centrifuge model tests.” Geotextiles and Geomembranes, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 95–108, DOI: 10.1016/j.geotexmem.2015.06.002.
Bhatti, A. Q. and Kishi, N. (2010). “Impact response of RC rock-shed girder with sand cushion under falling load.” Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 240, pp. 2626–2632, DOI: 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2010.07.029.
Chen, C., McDowell, G. R., and Thom, N. H. (2014). “Investigating geogrid-reinforced ballast: Experimental pull-out tests and discrete element modelling.” Soils and Foundations, Vol. 54, No. 1, pp. 1–11, DOI: 10.1016/j.sandf.2013.12.001.
Chen, R. P., Wang, Y. W., Ye, X. W., Bian, X. C., and Dong, X. P. (2016). “Tensile force of geogrids embedded in pile-supported reinforced embankment: A full-scale experimental study.” Geotextiles and Geomembranes, Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 157–169, DOI: 10.1016/j.geotexmem.2015.08.001.
Chikatamarla, R., Laue, J., and Springman, S. M. (2004). Rockfall impact on protection galleries, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich.
Delhomme, F., Mommessin, M., Mougin, J. P., and Perrotin, P. (2005). “Behavior of a structurally dissipating rock-shed: Experimental analysis and study of punching effects.” International Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol. 42, No. 14, pp. 4204–4219, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2004.12.008.
Evans, S. G., Delaney, K. B., Hermanns, R. L., Strom, A., Scarascia-Mugnozza, G. (2011). “The formation and behaviour of natural and artificial rockslide dams.” Implications for Engineering Performance and Hazard Management, Vol. 133, pp. 1–75, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-04764-0_1.
Hazarika, H. (2006). “Stress–strain modeling of EPS geofoam for largestrain applications.” Geotextiles and Geomembranes, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp.79–90, DOI: 10.1016/j.geotexmem.2005.11.003.
Horvath, J. S. (1997). “The compressible inclusion function of EPS geofoam.” Geotextiles and Geomembranes, Vol. 15, Nos. 1–3, pp. 77–120.
Hussaini, S. K. K., Indraratna, B., and Vinod, J. S. (2015). “Performance assessment of geogrid-reinforced railroad ballast during cyclic loading.” Transportation Geotechnics, Vol. 2, pp. 99–107, DOI: 10.1016/j.trgeo.2014.11.002.
Hussein, M. G. and Meguid, M. A. (2016). “A three-dimensional finite element approach for modeling biaxial geogrid with application to geogrid-reinforced soils.” Geotextiles and Geomembranes, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 295–307, DOI: 10.1016/j.geotexmem.2015.12.004.
Ikizler, S. B., Aytekin, M., and Nas, E. (2008). “Laboratory study of expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam used with expansive soils.” Geotextiles and Geomembranes, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 189–195, DOI: 10.1016/j.geotexmem.2007.05.005.
Kawahara, S. and Muro, T. (2006). “Effects of dry density and thickness of sandy soil on impact response due to rockfall.” Journal of Terramechanics, Vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 329–340, DOI: 10.1016/j.jterra.2005.05.009.
Kishi, N. and Bhatti, A. Q. (2010). “An equivalent fracture energy concept for nonlinear dynamic response analysis of prototype RC girders subjected to falling-weight impact loading.” International Journal of Impact Engineering, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 103–113, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2009.07.007.
Kishi, N., Okada, S., Konno, H., and Bhatti, A. Q. (2003). “Numerical study on modeling of sand element for impact response analysis.” Journal of Structural Engineering, Vol. 49A, pp. 1323–1332.
Liu, C.-N., Yang, K.-H., and Nguyen, M. D. (2014). “Behavior of geogrid–reinforced sand and effect of reinforcement anchorage in large-scale plane strain compression.” Geotextiles and Geomembranes, Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 479–493, DOI: 10.1016/j.geotexmem.2014.07.007.
Mougin, J.-P., Perrotin, P., Mommessin, M., Tonnelo, J., and Agbossou, A. (2005). “Rock fall impact on reinforced concrete slab: An experimental approach.” International Journal of Impact Engineering, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 169–183, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2003.11.005.
Prisco, C.d. and Vecchiotti, M. (2010). “Design charts for evaluating impact forces on dissipative granular soil cushions.” Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol. 136, No. 11, pp. 1529–1541, DOI: 10.1061//ASCE/GT.1943-5606.0000363.
Schellenberg, K., Volkwein, A., Roth, A., and Vogel, T. (2007). “Largescale impact tests on rock fall gallerie.” Proceedings of Protect, pp. 27–34.
Volkwein, A., Schellenberg, K., Labiouse, V., Agliardi, F., Berger, F., Bourrier, F., Dorren, L. K. A., Gerber, W., and Jaboyedoff, M. (2011). “Rockfall characterisation and structural protection–a review.” Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, Vol. 11, pp. 2617–2651, DOI: 10.5194/nhess-11-2617-2011.
Wang, D. P., He, S. M., Wu, Y., and Li, X. P. (2014). “Cushioning effect of rock sheds with EPS cushion on rock-falls action.” Journal of Vibration and Shock, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 199–214, DOI: 10.13465 /j.cnki.jvs.2014.04.035.
Zarnani, S. and Bathurst, R. J. (2009). “Numerical parametric study of expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam seismic buffers.” Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 318–338, DOI: 10.1139/t08-128.
Zheng, C., Liu, J., Fan, J., Luan, Y., and Song, L. (2016). “Research on deformation behavior of isotactic polypropylene in uniaxial geogrid manufacture.” Materials & Design, Vol. 91, pp. 1–10, DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2015.11.075.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ouyang, C., Liu, Y., Wang, D. et al. Dynamic Analysis of Rockfall Impacts on Geogrid Reinforced Soil and EPS Absorption Cushions. KSCE J Civ Eng 23, 37–45 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-018-0704-4
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-018-0704-4