2D and 3D numerical simulations of a reinforced landslide: A case study in NE Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the slope stability problem that occurred in the Ulubey (NE Turkey) during the construction of a hospital building and to propose a reliable support design. The borehole applications, geophysical surveys, groundwater measurements, soil sampling and SPT were performed to establish the geotechnical model. Based on the site characterization investigations, three units were defined as sliding material, residual regolith and volcanic rocks. Strength parameters of the sliding and residual soil materials were obtained from the back analysis. The long-term performance of the double row-bore piles was proposed as support measures and was controlled using the limit equilibrium (LE) and finite element (FEM) analyses methods under a dynamic condition. The 2D-LE and 2D-FEM analysis results showed that the suggested support design is reliable for long-term stability. The locations of the critical shear surface determined by 2D methods were almost the same as those obtained from 3D-FEM method and the total displacement values obtained from the 3D-FEM model were smaller than those obtained from the 2D-FEM model. These results indicated that 2D and 3D stability analyses were sufficient to evaluate the stability of uncomplex slope geometry when a reliable design with simple solutions was required.