Reinforcement Effect of a Concrete Mat to Prevent Ground Collapses Due to Buried Pipe Damage

Abstract

This study described a ground reinforcement effect of a concrete mat, in order to apply a concrete mat for ground subsidence restoration of an open cut. A concrete mat can prevent the expansion of a cavity and relaxation area underground due to buried pipe damage when the buried pipe is in use. An experimental study was conducted to analyze the stress distribution characteristics of an underground area by ground reinforcement of a concrete mat. In addition, a numerical analysis was performed to estimate the range of underground reinforcement of a concrete mat. As an experiment results, the maximum stress reduction ratio of the concrete mat in the underground was 28.5% to 30.9%, which means the reinforcement effect of the concrete mat, according to the installation depth of the concrete mat. The finite element analysis (FEA) results showed that the installation depth of the concrete mat differed in various scenarios, in order to secure the reinforcement effect of the concrete mat according to the load conditions (point and uniform load). Therefore, the reinforced depth of a concrete mat should be determined by the load type on the surface.