Optical fiber monitoring of a reinforced fill structure built with stabilized ground

¹ Buildwise, 23 Kleine Kloosterstraat, Zaventem, 1932, BELGIUM E-mail: maximilien.van.breusegem@buildwise.be , e-mail: nicolas.denies@buildwise.be web page: https://www.buildwise.be
² Geoquest, 280 avenue Napoléon Bonaparte, 92500 Rueil-Malmaison, FRANCE E-mail: nicolas.freitag@geoquest-group.com, web page: https://www.geoquest-group.com

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the in-situ monitoring of a reinforced fill structure built with stabilized ground and reinforced with PVA-strips. The reinforced fill structure is built as an access road for a bridge above the Belgian highway E40 near the city of Ghent. Optical fibers are used to measure the deformations of the geosynthetic strips during the construction and after the completion of the works. The deformations of the geostrips are measured in the highest elevation section of the reinforced fill structure (6.6m high). For the construction of reinforced fill structures, most of the design guidelines always require the use of sand and gravel. Considering the growing deficit of natural aggregates, the transportation costs and the CO₂ emission reduction, the use of locally available ground from the earthworks is more and more considered as a sustainable and profitable alternative to build such kind of structures.