Experimental and finite element analysis of slope stability treated by lime milk (case of El Amir Abdelkader embankment)

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental stabilization approach of the landslide that threatens a slope located near the city of El Amir Abdelkader, Ain Temouchent, Algeria. Stabilization is assured by the addition of lime milk, and then a numerical validation of the results with respect to the safety coefficient before and after treatment was performed by “Plaxis” software. Experimental results show that the stabilization by lime milk improves compaction parameters, swelling and shear strength, particularly the cohesion and friction angle, the latter permitting appreciation of the sliding surface on which it is necessary to base the calculation of the safety coefficient before and after treatment. Numerical results indicate that the factor of safety increases with the improvement of the mechanical characteristics c and ϕ, which are improved by increasing lime milk percentage. The numerical validation using “Plaxis” finite element code gives results that are in perfect agreement with the experimental ones, indicating that this software is a good tool for slope stability study.