Analysis of the stability and seismic behavior of the geosynthetic-reinforced embankments under earthquake

The stability and seismic behavior of geosynthetic-reinforced embankments during the earthquake is not well known. In this paper, the damage types of embankments were summarized, and the seismic stability of reinforced embankment were analyzed through an earthquake damage investigation in the Wenchuan earthquake region. Then, large-scale shaking table model tests were performed on the geosynthetic-reinforced embankment. The results show that the damage level of the reinforced embankment was almost less than that of the unreinforced embankment. The peak seismic earth pressure was nonlinear along the height of the embankment, the largest peak seismic earth pressure was roughly in the middle of the embankment slope. The peak ground accelerations (PGA) amplification factor first showed an increasing pattern and then a decreasing pattern with the increase of elevation, but there was a final increasing trend along the height of the reinforced embankment. The results can help to establish the proper design of the reinforcement embankments under earthquake conditions.