Publication Date

8-2023

Date of Final Oral Examination (Defense)

April 2023

Type of Culminating Activity

Thesis

Degree Title

Master of Science in Civil Engineering

Department

Civil Engineering

Supervisory Committee Chair

Bhaskar Chittoori, Ph.D., P.E.

Supervisory Committee Member

Seth Olsen, P.E.

Supervisory Committee Member

Nick Hudyma, Ph.D., P.E.

Abstract

In early 2016, five homes along Alto Via Court in the Terra Nativa Subdivision of the Boise Foothills began to move. By May of 2016, the street was closed due to safety concerns, and a few years later, the homes were demolished. Despite the heartbreak and legal action that followed the event, a definitive cause of the landslide was never identified. To date, the site remains vacant. This research aims to investigate the potential causes of the slide to help identify the contributing factors that resulted in the mishap. In addition, the research seeks to design a way to stabilize the slope using recycled plastic pins (RPPs), which are durable, slender pins made from recycled materials that can reinforce a slope by driving the pins into the slope face to intercept the sliding surface. Results of the research found that surface runoff and irrigation were the greatest contributors to slope failure. Using average strength values of RPPs, a variety of reinforcement patterns were investigated. RPPs spaced at 3 feet in-plane and out-of-plane over the distance of the entire slope and RPPs spaced at 2 feet only at the slope crest and toe were both successful in bringing the slope factor of safety (FOS) to above 1.5. The 2-foot spacing is recommended due to having the least amount of reinforced area. Material costs to reinforce the entire area are estimated to be approximately 4 million dollars.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.18122/td.2115.boisestate

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