An investigation on landslide stabilizing piles by using 3-D finite element analyses

In this study, the movement of a slope and the performance of the stabilizing piles are investigated. A landslide-prone area, where soil movements are observed, is selected to perform the investigation. The stratigraphic characteristic of the slope is identified with a testing program to develop a stabilizing approach to minimize the potential landslide risk. Therefore, finite element analyses are performed by using various piles to determine the optimum pile configuration based on factor of safety, maximum displacements, bending moments, and shear forces. The investigated area has two steeper slopes: one is closer to the road construction, and the other is located on the top of slope. According to the results of the analyses, the variation of maximum soil displacement is insignificant, although slight variations of the factor of safety, maximum shear force and bending moment are determined for two and three rows of piles. The results show that the piles are more effective when located in the middle of the slope. Besides, they are less effective in the case of increasing the rows of piles due to high bending moments and shear forces.