STEEL SLAG AND RECYCLED CONCRETE FOR SLOPE PROTECTION AGAINST RAINFALL-INDUCED LANDSLIDES

Abstract

Cumulative waste disposal in the current days has stimulated research interest in using waste materials in the geotechnical design for adaptation measures against the effects of climate change. Due to global warming, rainfall-induced slope failures have drawn the attention of many geotechnical engineers. For this reason, waste materials like steel slag and recycled concrete were incorporated into the GeoBarrier system (GBS) for the prevention of slope failures triggered by rainfall. This study investigated the feasibility of steel slag as a coarse-grained material and recycled concrete as a fine-grained material within GBS. Index properties, soil-water characteristic curves, permeability functions, and unsaturated shear strength parameters of steel slag and recycled concrete were determined via comprehensive experimental work. Numerical assessments of the infiltration of rainfall into the slope and the stability of the slope under rainfall conditions were accomplished using the SEEP/W and SLOPE/W analysis tools, respectively. According to the results, there was no breakthrough into the steel slag, a coarse-grained layer inside the GBS. Based upon the changes in the pore-water pressure and graphs of the factor of safety (FOS) versus time, steel slag and recycled concrete were suitable for use as coarse- and fine-grained layers of the GBS to minimize slope rainwater infiltration and improve the FOS of a slope with a height of 10 m and an inclination of 70°.