ABSTRACT
Capillary barrier is a cover system that limits water infiltration into the underlying soil by utilizing the contrast between hydraulic properties of the fine- and coarse-grained materials. A dual capillary barrier was recently developed in order to increase the performance of capillary barrier in limiting water infiltration into the underlying soil. The performance of dual capillary barrier as a slope protection has not been investigated. The objective of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a dual capillary barrier for slope protection. A case study of NTU-ANX slope that failed in 1995 was selected. Numerical simulations were performed to investigate the effectiveness of a Single Capillary Barrier (SCB) and Dual Capillary Barrier System (DCB) in reducing water infiltration into the NTU-ANX slope. The numerical simulations of NTU-ANX slope showed that the failure of the slope was triggered by rainfall infiltration. The antecedent rainfall that occurred before the major rainfall event was critical to the failure. The SCB and DCB cover systems decreased the infiltration into the slope. The DCB is the more effective cover system to reduce the water infiltration that leads to less changes in factor of safety of the slope.
