Three-Dimensional Stability Analysis of a Homogeneous Slope Reinforced with Micropiles

Micropiles are widely used to reinforce slopes due to their successful performance and fast construction. In this study, a simple nonlinear method is proposed to analyze the stability of a homogeneous slope reinforced with micropiles. This method is based on shear strength reduction technique, in which the soil behavior is described using the nonassociated Mohr-Coulomb criterion and micropiles are modeled as 3D pile elements. A series of slope stability analyses is performed to investigate the coupled mechanism of micropile system, and the optimum of pile position, depth of embedment, and length of truncation are analyzed. Results show that the position of micropile system plays an important role not only in the calculation of the safety factor, but also in locating the failure surface, which demonstrates the dominating coupled effect exists between micropiles and slope. The critical embedment depth of the micropile is about 2 times the length of micropile above the critical slip surface, and the micropiles flexure rather than rotation becomes increasingly prevalent as the depth of micropiles embedment increases. Truncation of micropiles may improve the capacity of the micropile system, and the largest truncation length of micropile is about 1/4 depth of critical slip surface in this study.