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Experimental Investigation of Reinforced Soil Slopes in a Geotechnical Centrifuge, with the Use of Optical Fibre Sensors

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Abstract

The purpose of this experimental investigation is to obtain strain measurements via optical fibre sensors in the drum geotechnical centrifuge of ETH Zurich. It is part of a test series with main goal to study the behaviour of reinforced slopes subjected to self weight loading and subsequently to an impact from a rockfall event. In total 13 scaled reinforced slope models were built with a height of 180 mm and a slope inclination of 2V:1H, optimising the materials used and the different ways of model making. The maximum g-levels were 50 and 100 g and the impact loading was applied at 50 g. The optical fibre sensors were placed on various layers of the reinforcement and at different positions. Strain measurements that were recorded during different tests are logical and expected, demonstrating that optical fibre sensors can successfully be used for measuring linear strain on reinforcement layers that are tested under enhanced gravity in the geotechnical centrifuge. The experimental set up as well as the opportunities and challenges of these measurements are presented and discussed. Finally, correspondent prototype numerical models were created and analysed and the results of this analysis are compared to the corresponding experimental ones.

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Abbreviations

Δε:

Strain change

Δλ:

Wavelength change

Κε:

Ratio expressing stress-wavelength relation

Κτ:

Ratio expressing stress-temperature relation

Δτ:

Temperature change

dl:

Horizontal elongation

l:

Length

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Acknowledgements

The first author is grateful for financial support provided by the State Scholarships Foundation of Greece (IKY). The stay at ETH Zürich has been made possible by the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students of the Swiss Government. The authors would also like to thank Professor Sarah M. Springman, Rector of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology-ETH Zurich, for hosting the physical model tests in the geotechnical centrifuge, as well as the technical support group of IGT at ETH Zurich: Markus Iten, Heinz Richner and Ernst Bleiker.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Elena Kapogianni & Michael Sakellariou

  2. Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden

    Jan Laue

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  1. Elena Kapogianni
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  2. Michael Sakellariou
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  3. Jan Laue
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Correspondence to Elena Kapogianni.

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Kapogianni, E., Sakellariou, M. & Laue, J. Experimental Investigation of Reinforced Soil Slopes in a Geotechnical Centrifuge, with the Use of Optical Fibre Sensors. Geotech Geol Eng 35, 585–605 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-016-0127-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-016-0127-2

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