Monitoring and Analysis of High Fill Embankment Settlements

The settlement of embankments after construction is of the major concern worldwide especially for high fill embankments, since it contributes to many different modes of roadway failure. Accurately estimating long-term settlement has been the focus of research and practice for years. A commonly used approach of estimating the long-term settlement is to extrapolate the settlement monitoring data obtained during or shortly after construction to the time of interest. This paper presented a study on the settlement of a 67m high embankment in the west of China, which consisted of a field settlement monitoring program and thereafter the settlement analyses. The settlements of the embankment were monitored by multiple point borehole extensometers periodically for approximately half year after embankment construction. The acquired settlement data from the field monitoring program were fitted using logarithmic, Poisson's and exponential models. The advantages and disadvantages of each model are discussed. Suggestions on estimating the long-term settlement data were developed.