The design of reinforced soil embankments for rockfall protection, particularly the analysis of their construction stages, requires consideration of complex soil–structure interaction problems arising from the highly non-linear mechanical behaviour of soils. In engineering practice, however, conventional limit equilibrium methods are still frequently employed. Although these methods are well established in the literature, they often involve excessive simplifications, particularly when stringent performance requirements must be satisfied. Drawing on a case study involving a recently constructed reinforced soil embankment, for which a maximum allowable facing displacement of 25 cm was specified, this paper offers insights into three key aspects: (i) the interpretation of in situ and laboratory tests for material characterisation; (ii) the influence of construction stages on the evolution of the internal stress state within the structure; and (iii) the importance of selecting and calibrating appropriate constitutive models for soil behaviour.
La progettazione di rilevati in terra rinforzata per la protezione dalla caduta massi, in particolar modo l’analisi delle fasi costruttive, richiede la trattazione di complessi problemi di interazione tra terreno e struttura, a causa delle forti non linearità della risposta meccanica del terreno. Nella pratica, tuttavia, spesso si adottano ancora tradizionali metodi dell’equilibrio limite che, pur ben consolidati in letteratura, risultano spesso eccessivamente semplificati, specie quando sono richiesti requisiti prestazionali particolarmente stringenti. La nota, a partire da un caso di studio su un rilevato di recente costruzione per il quale erano prescritti spostamenti massimi della facciata non superiori a 25 cm, suggerisce alcuni spunti di approfondimento in merito a: (i) interpretazione di prove in sito e di laboratorio per la caratterizzazione dei materiali, (ii) effetto delle fasi costruttive sull’evoluzione dello stato di sforzo interno all’opera e (iii) importanza della scelta e calibrazione dei modelli costitutivi adottati per il terreno.
Studio numerico sulla costruzione di un rilevato paramassi non convenzionale
M. Vecchiotti;A. Galli;G. Marrazzo;M. Nart;
2025-01-01
Abstract
The design of reinforced soil embankments for rockfall protection, particularly the analysis of their construction stages, requires consideration of complex soil–structure interaction problems arising from the highly non-linear mechanical behaviour of soils. In engineering practice, however, conventional limit equilibrium methods are still frequently employed. Although these methods are well established in the literature, they often involve excessive simplifications, particularly when stringent performance requirements must be satisfied. Drawing on a case study involving a recently constructed reinforced soil embankment, for which a maximum allowable facing displacement of 25 cm was specified, this paper offers insights into three key aspects: (i) the interpretation of in situ and laboratory tests for material characterisation; (ii) the influence of construction stages on the evolution of the internal stress state within the structure; and (iii) the importance of selecting and calibrating appropriate constitutive models for soil behaviour.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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