Assessing Wicking Geotextile for Enhanced Drainage and Stability in Highway Slopes: A Field Study in Central Texas
Highway slope failures are a significant geo-environmental hazard, disrupting transportation networks, causing costly repairs, delays, and endangering lives. Rainfall is a key contributor to these failures, reducing soil shear strength through infiltration. As extreme weather events intensify, there is a growing need for effective drainage solutions to enhance slope stability and ensure transportation infrastructure resilience. Multifunctional wicking geotextiles, known for their moisture redistribution capabilities, have emerged as a promising solution for improving slope stability by facilitating water drainage. This study builds on the previous SPTC project, ‘Multifunctional Geosynthetic-Based Stabilization to Increase Coastal Infrastructure Resilience’, which evaluated wicking geotextiles in laboratory settings. The current research aims to assess the field performance of wicking geotextiles in reinforced highway slopes through full-scale tests. Test sections will be constructed in central Texas, using both conventional and wicking geotextiles. A comparative analysis will focus on drainage efficiency and slope stability, particularly under extreme weather conditions. Data on soil moisture and slope deformation will be collected using moisture sensors and remote sensing technologies, such as Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The objectives of this study will be accomplished through 5 tasks. Task 1 involves literature review and material procurement. Task 2 involves site selection and soil sample collection. Characterization of engineering properties of soil will be pursued in Task 3. Task 4 will involve design and construction of test sections. Task 5 involves monitoring of slope and data analysis. This study will provide critical insights into the long-term performance of wicking geotextiles, contributing to the development of more resilient and sustainable transportation infrastructure capable of withstanding extreme weather events.
- Record URL:
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $98,271.00
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Contract Numbers:
69A3552348306
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Sponsor Organizations:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
University Transportation Centers Program
Department of Transportation
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Managing Organizations:
Southern Plains Transportation Center
University of Oklahoma
202 W Boyd St, Room 213A
Norman, OK United States 73019 -
Project Managers:
Dunn, Denise
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Performing Organizations:
Texas A&M Transportation Institute
Texas A&M University System
3135 TAMU
College Station, TX United States 77843-3135 -
Principal Investigators:
Bhaskar, Puneet
Goehl, Darlene
Puppala, Anand
- Start Date: 20241001
- Expected Completion Date: 20250930
- Actual Completion Date: 0
- USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Drainage; Geotextiles; Slope stability; Stability (Mechanics); Unmanned aircraft systems
- Identifier Terms: Synthetic aperture radar
- Geographic Terms: Texas
- Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Materials;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01945968
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Southern Plains Transportation Center
- Contract Numbers: 69A3552348306
- Files: UTC, RIP
- Created Date: Feb 13 2025 3:04PM