Assessing the efficacy of micro-piles prepared using polymer-soil mixtures for landslide emergency mitigation

• Published in: Construction & building materials 2024-12, Vol.456, p.139243, Article 139243
• Main Authors: Zhi-Chao, Zhang, Xue-feng, Tang, Long-zhen, Ye, Guo-Liang, Ma
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Emergency mitigation; Landslide; Model tests; Numerical simulation; Polymer-soil micro-piles (PSMPs); Polyurethane
• ISSN: 0950-0618
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2024.139243

Polymer materials are proposed for stabilizing soil due to their numerous advantages, including rapid solidification, high durability, lightweight nature, water impermeability, and minimal impact to existing structures. Landslides are emergent geological disasters that pose a significant threat to human beings. Commonly employed measures for mitigating landslides include the installation of anti-slide piles, retaining walls, and other supportive structures. Typically, these measures involve the use of materials like cement, which often necessitates a considerable amount of time to achieve the desired function. In order to facilitate prompt and convenient disposal, the concept of polymer-soil micro-piles (PSMPs) has been introduced to address slope soil stabilization in the current work. The PSMPs are created by blending sandy soil with polyurethane, offering an advantage over traditional methods as they can be easily installed and achieve 90 % of their final strength within fifteen minutes. The effectiveness of PSMPs for landslide mitigation was assessed through model tests and numerical simulations. The findings indicate an immediate increase in slope bearing capacity and a reduction in vertical and horizontal displacement at the top and toe of the slope, respectively, following the installation of PSMPs. For example, the bearing capacity rose by 16.7 % and 50 % with the installation of one and two groups of PSMPs, respectively. The factor of safety of slope was obviously improved at the loading that the untreated slope failure with increasing PSMPs. The results from the current work demonstrate that the solidification of PSMPs can be swiftly achieved post-installation, affirming the practicality and efficacy of the proposed PSMPs for emergency landslide mitigation efforts. •Advantages of polymer and micro pile are combined for landslide emergency mitigation.•PSMPs can perfectly mitigate landslide occurrence immediately after installation.•Numerical model reasonably captures the properties of slopes after stabilization.