Geogrid-Reinforced Slope Stability under Failure, Drainage, and Seismic Conditions: A Sustainable Geotechnical Assessment Supporting SDG 9, SDG 11, and SDG 13

Slope failures are one of the major problems, in terms of infrastructure safety as well as environment and socio-economic resilience especially in the case of rapid urbanization, climate induced extreme rainfall events and increasing seismic hazards. Dealing with these issues also makes valuable contributions to broader global objectives in relation to infrastructure that is sustainable (SDG 9); urban systems that are resilient (SDG 11), and strategies for adapting to climate change (SDG 13). A complete slope stability analysis is conducted in this study, which highlights the contribution of geogrid reinforcement on improving the performance of slopes under during failure, drainage and seismic particulate. Conventional geotechnical investigation of borehole data, SPT N-values and laboratory testing in combination with more sophisticated numerical analysis using ReSSA software is presented. Rotational failure analysis with Limit Equilibrium Method is performed on unreinforced and reinforced slopes, using different ground water and seismic loadings in calculating factor of safety. Special attention is devoted to the influence of pore water pressure and draining conditions (degree of saturation) as well as soil heterogeneity in the slope behavior for field cases experienced under climate variability. The results show that slope stability is greatly improved with geogrid due to enhancement of shear strength and decrease in displacement as well as failure potential under poor drainage or seismic conditions. The introduction of efficient drainage schemes would further improve performance by reducing pore water pressure and long term stability. The relationships between SPT N-values and the stability parameters have underscored the need for site-specific soil characterization to design safe slope stabilization works. A comparison of costs and benefits demonstrates that the use of geogrid for stabilization provides a cost-effec- tive, sustainable alternative to traditional methods when potential long-term main- tenance and failure repair are factored in. The results of this study can contribute to the better understanding and rational design aspects of designing reinforced slopes for transportation corridors, embankments, as well as urban development projects.