Soil Nailing for Stability of Slopes

Surender Singh
M.Tech (Geotechnical Engineering) Civil Engineering Department,
Delhi Technical University, Delhi-110089, India.
e-mail: suru49857@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
In the present experimental work, the behaviour of the unreinforced and soil nailed slopes under
different static surcharge load is carried out experimentally. The slopes are constructed of sand size
soil at presumed soil slope angle of 60° with the horizontal plane. Different static load is applied on
the bearing plate mounted on the crest of soil slope to observe the load vs. settlement behaviour.
These soil slopes are then reinforced by installing aluminium hollow tubes as soil nails at three
different inclinations of 0°, 15° and 30° with the horizontal plane keeping the horizontal and vertical
spacing = 10 cm. The effect of soil nail pattern with in the soil slope is also analysed in the present
study. Nails are installed in square, diamond and staggered arrangements. Stress and strain produced
in the nails installed at different positions has been also found out in the present study with the help of
strain gauges during the subsequent stages of loading. It is observed that nails inserted at 00 are more
efficient in providing the stability to the slopes as compared to nails inserted at 150 and 300. Also nails
installed in staggered pattern was found to be most efficient.
KEYWORDS: static load, nail inclination, nail pattern, static loading.

INTRODUCTION
Soil nailing is a soil stabilization technique which is used as a remedial measure in order
to treat the unstable natural or artificial soil slopes. This technique is also used in order to
allow the safe over-steepening of new or existing soil slopes. In this method of slope
stabilization, a relatively slender reinforcing element is driven into the soil slope. Reinforcing
elements generally used in this technique generally consists of HYSD steel bars or steel
hollow tubes depending upon the requirement.
The nails used for soil nailing are generally driven into the slope at an angle of 100 to 200
with horizontal plane. Due to the application of surcharge load by various means, the backfill
material starts deforming which in turn passively produces the tensile stresses in the
nails.The method of installation is different for solid and hollow bars. Solid bars are
generally installed into the pre-drilled holes. These bars are grouted into place
simultaneously using separate grout line. Hollow bars are drilled and grouted simultaneously
with the help of sacrificial drill bit.

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 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 10 4236

When bars are inserted into the soil slope by using drilling technique ,then they are fully grouted
and are installed at a slight downward inclination. Centralizers are used in order to keep the nails at its
exact position. In order to provide the stability a rigid facing usually of pneumatically applied
concrete (shotcrete) is applied. In some cases isolated nail head plates can be also used for this
purpose.
In few cases a flexible reinforcing mesh is held against the soil slope face under the head plates.
In case if environmental conditions are not adequate, then rabbit proof wire mesh and environmental
erosion control fabrics are used in addition with flexible mesh facing.
The installation of the soil nails is progressive and is carried out simultaneously with soil
excavation in front of the retained wall. This takes place in a series of successive phases (US
Federal Highway Administration, 1999). Most of the slope stability analyses generally uses
the limit equilibrium approach and hence finding the factor of safety for the soil nailed slope.
A new approach to analyze soil nailed walls using a trial wedge method is presented by (Sheahan
and Carlton 2003) on the Amherst Test wall in clay and the Clouterre test wall in sand. The failure
surface of these walls indicated evidence of relatively steep and approximately linear slip surfaces
instead of the more complex surfaces. (Patra 2005) proposed the use of optimization technique in the
design of nailed slope as the stability analysis is carried out by choosing the vertical and inclined
slices regardless of the shape of the slip surface. Study of circular wedge type failure in soil nailed
cuts by friction circle method is done by (Biswas et al. 2006). Finite element model has been also
used to study the slope failures which occurs `naturally' through the zones in which the shear strength
of the soil is insufficient to resist the shear stresses (Griffiths and Lane, 1999).
In the present experimental work, the behaviour of the unreinforced and soil nailed slopes under
different static surcharge load is carried out experimentally. The slopes are constructed of sand size
soil at presumed soil slope angle of 60° with the horizontal plane. Different static load is applied on
the bearing plate mounted on the crest of soil slope to observe the load vs. settlement behaviour.
These soil slopes are then reinforced by installing aluminium hollow tubes as soil nails at three
different inclinations of 0°, 15° and 30° with the horizontal plane keeping the horizontal and vertical
spacing = 10 cm. The effect of soil nail pattern with in the soil slope is also analysed in the present
study. Nails are installed in square, diamond and staggered arrangements. Stress and strain produced
in the nails installed at different positions has been also found out in the present study with the help
of strain gauges during the subsequent stages of loading.
 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 10 4237

EXPERIMENTAL SET UP
Wooden Box
A box of dimension 60 cm x 40 cm x 30cm is fabricated by using plywood sheets as shown in
Figure 1.

30 cm

60 cm
40cm

Figure 1: Wooden Box

Nails used
Hollow aluminium tubes are used as a reinforcing material. Dimensions of these hollow tubes are
specified as below:
Diameter(D) = 10mm
Length of nails(L) = 16cm(0.6H, H=Height of slope)
Modulus of elasticity (Ea) = 69 GPa

Strain gauge

Figure 2: Nails used in the project

 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 10 4238

Srain Gauges : Strain gauges of gauge length 3mm and resistance 120 ohm are used in
order to calculate the strain produced in the steel bars and soil during the loading.

Figure 2b: Strain gauges

Digital Multimeter: 3 digital multi2:eter are used in order to obtain the change in
resistance during the loading. This change in resistance is then used to determine the strain
produced in the nails during loading.
Bearing Plate: A rectangular bearing plate of dimension (16 X 8 X 3.5)cm is used. The
dimension of bearing plate is selected considering the effect of rigid wall of box.

Figure 3: Mild Steel Bearing Plate

 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 10 4239

Figure 4: Digital Multimeter

Dial Gauge: Dial gauge of least count 0.01 mm is used in order to find the settlement of
bearing plate during the subsequent loading.
Backfill Material: The backfill material used for the construction of slopes is taken
from Delhi Technical University campus,Delhi. Preliminary tests of soil identification are
carried out in the laboratory to determine the backfill properties. The properties of the
backfill is given below:
Table 1: Properties of backfill material
Properties Results
Material type Sand
Grain size distribution Poorly graded sand
Value of cohesion,c 4.85 N/m2
Angle of internal friction,Ф 310
Maximum dry density 15.053 KN/m3

Preparation of Unreinforced Slopes

Sand size soil in its dry state is used to prepare slopes at predetermined slope angles of 60° .
The slope is prepared in layers of thickness 70mm each . A layer 30 mm thick is made as the base
 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 10 4240

layer completely along the length of model. The layer is formed by placing soil in box and lightly
compacting it after every 70 mm. The procedure is repeated till a complete height of 300 mm is
achieved. A crest width of 400 mm and the base width of 600 mm is maintained for all the slope
angles. The soil is such compacted so as to maintain the dry density of soil equal to 14.00 KN/m3

Figure 5: Unreinforced soil slope(600)

Preparation of Reinforced Slopes

The procedure for preparation of reinforced soil slope is same as that for unreinforced soil slope
except that the nails are installed at their respective position during the process. The nails are installed
at predetermined inclination of 0°, 15° and 30° with the help of a protractor. 9 hollow nails, each of
length 16 cm are inserted at the face of the slope in an arrangement of 3 rows x 3 columns. The
horizontal spacing is kept 10 cm whereas the vertical spacing is kept 10 cm (for square nail pattern
only). Before the nails are inserted into the slope face, strain gauges are glued to the nails with super
glue Z-70 and connections are made with connecting wires by soldering process.
 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 10 4241

Figure 6: Nail Installation

Testing Procedure
A rectangular bearing plate of dimension 16mm x 8mm is placed on the crest of slope . A series
of dead load is applied on the plate. The load and the corresponding settlement of the crest at which
the slope fails is observed from the dial gauge installed . The slopes are then installed with nails at
different inclinations and load is applied at the crest.

Figure 7: Loading on unreinforced slope.

In addition to the load – settlement measurement, the deflection of the nails under the increasing
dead load is also measured. For finding the strain in nails on loading, multimeters are used which
measure the resistance on strain gages glued to nails in unstrained and strained positions. The increase
in dead load is found to induce tensile forces in nails and a change in nail strains is observed, which is
detected by strain gauges. For the calculation of nail forces, a strain on nails is measured in unstrained
 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 10 4242

and strained positions. After measuring resistances in strain gages, the following formula is used to
calculate strain as given by.

∈ = ΔRg/ (Rg X G.F.)

where, G.F. = gauge factor of 2.00
Rg = resistance of strain gage unstrained,
ΔRg = change in resistance from unstrained to strained condition, and
∈ = strain.
After calculating strain, stress- strain graphs are plotted for nails at 0°. The maximum stress on
the nail is determined for top , middle and bottommost nail inserted below the bearing plate.

TEST RESULTS
The results show the effect of nail inclination on the load sustained by the slope. Nail inclination
also affects the final settlement of crest of the slope before failure. It was found from the above
experiments that the nail driven at 00 to horizontal plane are the most efficient in stabilising the soil
slope followed by nails inclined at 150 and 300 respectively.

Table 2: Observations for failure load and final settlement for different nail inclination
Nail inclination Failure load(N) Final settlement(mm)
Unreinforced 1020 6.75
00 1560 5.19
0
15 1500 5.75
0
30 1460 6.08
 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 10 4243

load(N)
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600
0

2 unreinforced
settlement(mm)

3 reinforced(0')
reinforced(15')
4
reinforced(30')
5

Figure 8: Load vs settlement curve for different nail inclination

The arrangement of soil nails within the soil slope also affects the overall stability of soil slope. It
has been found from the above study that nails arranged in staggered pattern shows best results
followed by square nail pattern and diamond nail pattern .

10 cm

10 cm

Figure 9: Square Nail Pattern

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Figure 10: Staggered or Triangular Nail Pattern

Figure 11: Diamond Nail Pattern

Table 3: observations for failure load and final settlement for different nail pattern
Nail Pattern Failure load(N) Final settlement(mm)
Unreinforced 1020 6.75
Square 1560 5.19
Diamond 1420 6.05
Staggered or Triangular 1600 4.75
 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 10 4245

Load(N)
0 500 1000 1500 2000
0

2 Unreinforced slope
settlement(mm)

Square
3
Diamond
4
Staggered
5

Figure 12: Load vs settlement curve for different nail pattern

Variation of strain in the soil nails during different stages of

loading
0.0008
0.0007
0.0006
0.0005
strain

0.0004 topmost nail

0.0003 middle nail

0.0002 bottommost nail

0.0001
0
0 500 1000 1500 2000
load(N)

Figure 13: variation of strain in nails during loading

 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 10 4246

Variation of stress in the soil nails during different stages of

loading
50
45
40
35
stress(N/mm2)

30
25 topmost
20 middle
15 bottommost
10
5
0
0 500 1000 1500 2000
load(N)

Figure 14: variation of stresses in nails during loading

FACTOR OF SAFETY FOR REINFORCED SOIL SLOPE

As per the FWHA manual the minimum factor of safety(considering the overall stability of
reinforced soil slope) recommended for soil nailed wall is 1.35 for static loading. Now factor of safety
for soil nailed slope in this case for different cases is calculated below:

F.O.S when nail inclination is 00 = 1560/1020 = 1.529

F.O.S when nail inclination is 150 = 1500/1020 = 1.470
F.O.S when nail inclination is 300 = 1460/1020 = 1.431
F.O.S for square nail pattern = 1560/1020 = 1.529
F.O.S for diamond nail pattern = 1420/1020 = 1.392
F.O.S for staggered nail pattern = 1600/1020 = 1.568
So from the above calculations it is quite clear that the nails installed at 00 give highest factor of
safety(1.529,calculated only for square pattern).
Staggered nails arrangement gives the best factor of safety i.e. 1.568
Both the above values of factor of safety is more than the value recommended by the FWHA
manual.
 Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 10 4247

CONCLUSION
It is observed that the unreinforced soil slopes initially have a settlement of the crest which
ultimately leads to the failure of the slope.
It is clear from the above observations that there is increase in the load sustained by the soil slope
due to the installation of aluminium nails. Moreover there is a considerable decrease in the final
settlement of the crest due to soil nailing.
The above study clearly shows the effect of nail inclination on the load sustained by the slope.
Nail inclination also affects the final settlement of crest of the slope before failure. It was found from
the above experiments that the nail driven at 00 to horizontal plane are the most efficient in stabilising
the soil slope followed by nails inclined at 150 and 300 respectively.
The arrangement of soil nails within the soil slope also affects the overall stability of soil slope. It
has been found from the above study that nails arranged in staggered pattern shows best results
followed by square nail pattern and diamond nail pattern .
Stresses produced with in the nails during the loading are tensile in nature. The maximum stress
is obtained for the topmost nail followed by the middle and bottommost nail respectively.
% increase in load sustained by soil slope when nail inclination is 00 = 52.94%
% increase in load sustained by soil slope when nails are arranged in staggered
pattern = 56.86%
% reduction in final settlement when nail inclination is 00 = 23.11 %
% reduction in final settlement when nails are arranged in staggered pattern = 29.62%
Maximum stress in the topmost soil nail = 46.30 N/mm2
Maximum stress in the middle soil nail = 37.50 N/mm2
Maximum stress in the bottommost soil nail = 20.23 N/mm2
Hence from this experimental study it can be concluded that the best nail inclination angle(with
horizontal plane) is 00 and the best nail pattern within the soil slope is staggered nail pattern.

REFERENCES
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Nail Walls”. Journal of Civil Engineering and Science. Vol. 2 Issue. 4, PP. 241-
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2. Rawat,S and Gupta,A.K.(2015). “An Experimental and Analytical Study of Slope
Stability by Soil Nailing”. Electronic Journal of Geotechnical Engineering .vol
21
3. Sengupta, A. and Giri, D.(2011). “Dynamic Analysis of Soil-nailed Slope”.
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Ground Improvement 164.
Issue GI4
4. Hassan ,N.(2012). “Stabilization of Earth Slopes by Using Soil Nailing”. Kufa
Journal of Engineering . ISSN 2207-5528 Vol. 5, Issue 1, P.P.1-12
Vol. 22 [2017], Bund. 10 4248

5. U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration manual for

Soil Nail Walls (2015).
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environmental Engineering (ASCE) 143(1).
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self-drilled soil nails”. Geotechnical Engineering. Proceedings of the Institution
of Civil Engineers Issue GE6 Pages 541–553
8. Principles of Foundation Engineering (seventh edition) by B.M. Das.
9. IS:1498 1970 Classification and identification of soils for General Engineering
purposes
10. IS: 2720 (Part. XIII) 1986. Direct shear test.
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12. IS:2720 (Part.4) 1985. Grain size analysis.
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© 2017 ejge

Editor’s note.
This paper may be referred to, in other articles, as:
Surender Singh: “Soil Nailing for Stability of Slopes” Electronic Journal
of Geotechnical Engineering, 2017 (22.10), pp 4235-4248. Available at
ejge.com.