Integrated Full-Scale Physical Experiments and Numerical Modeling of the Performance and Rehabilitation of Highway Embankments

The resilience of transportation infrastructure, such as highway embankments, is critical to avoiding commuter delays and costly repairs. The majority of earth embankments across the United States, specifically in Region 6, are in marginal condition. The high-plasticity clays used by state departments of transportation and development (DOTDs) to construct highway embankments are subjected to many cycles of wetting and drying periods. These soils can weather, desiccate, and soften to significantly lower strengths. In addition, heavy rainfall increases the soil moisture and ultimately results in slope stability problems. As a result, highway maintenance crews continue to spend many hours fighting this problem annually. Therefore, this study aims to (1) develop a predictive tool for identifying high-risk locations that may fail so they can be made more resilient and (2) determine cost-effective methods for repairing slides. The review of past failures and continuous field monitoring will be used to develop guidelines for rehabilitating failed slopes, so that the likelihood for subsequent slides is significantly reduced.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $210000
• Contract Numbers:

  18GTLSU06

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Transportation Consortium of South-Central States

  Louisiana State University
  Baton Rouge, LA  United States  70803
• Project Managers:

  Romanoschi, Stefan

  Hassan, Marwa

• Performing Organizations:

  Louisiana State University and A&M College

  202 Himes Hall
  Baton Rouge, LA  United States  70803

  University of Texas, Arlington

  Dept. of Civil Engineering
  Box 19308
  Arlington, TX  United States  76019
• Principal Investigators:

  Jafari, Navid H.

  Puppala, Anand

• Start Date: 20180315
• Expected Completion Date: 20190915
• Actual Completion Date: 20190915
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Cost effectiveness; Design; Embankments; Maintenance; Rainfall; Seepage; Shear strength; Slope stability; Unsaturated soils
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01664061
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Consortium of South-Central States
• Contract Numbers: 18GTLSU06
• Files: UTC, RiP
• Created Date: Mar 16 2018 11:57AM