Upper-bound solution for the stability of stone-facing embankments

• Published in: Materials and structures Vol. 49; no. 10; pp. 4279 - 4289
• Main Authors: Colas, Anne-Sophie, Morel, Jean-Claude, Garnier, Denis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-10-2016; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: Assessments; Building construction; Building Materials; Civil Engineering; Drying; Embankments; Engineering; Engineering Sciences; Friction; Granular materials; Machines; Manufacturing; Materials Science; Mathematical models; Mechanics; Original Article; Processes; Robustness; Solid Mechanics; Stability; Structural mechanics; Theoretical and Applied Mechanics; Embankment; Upper-bound solution; Rockfill dam; Masonry facing; Dyke; UPPER-BOUND SOLUTION; DIGUE; BARRAGE EN ENROCHEMENT; MASONRY FACING; DYKE
• ISSN: 1359-5997; 1871-6873
• DOI: 10.1617/s11527-015-0787-z

An upper-bound solution for stone-facing embankments is developed to assess the stability of this type of structures. The embankment is treated as a cohesionless granular material whereas the facing is considered as composed of discrete stone blocks, laid dry one on the top of the other, complying with a Mohr-Coulomb interface law. This enables the assessment of the stability of the structure, solely resorting to its geometry, unit weight, and the friction angles of the embankment and facings. The model is finally used to assess the stability of an existing rockfill dam in the Pyrénées (France). Comparison with distinct element method results and parametric analyses prove the robustness of the model on this case study.