Numerical Modeling of Climate Change Impacts on Transportation Embankments

Abstract

Embankments are essential components of transportation infrastructure, providing crucial support for long stretches of highways, railways, and other routes in California and around the world. Clay embankments are susceptible to weather-related deterioration processes that can gradually compromise their stability and, in some cases, lead to unexpected failures. Climate change, along with the associated shifts in weather patterns, is projected to adversely impact the weather-related deterioration processes, leading to exacerbated failures and/or shorter service life. Additionally, climate change is projected to increase the frequency of extreme precipitation events, leading to an increase in embankment failure potential. This study evaluated (1) the effect of future climate scenarios on the long-term performance of clay embankments, and (2) the effect of extreme precipitation events brought about by future climate scenarios on the hydromechanical response of clay embankments to these extreme events. This study examined areas in central Los Angeles, California. Multi-phase hydromechanical geotechnical models were developed for exemplary high plasticity and low plasticity clay embankments with varied side slope angles. Overall, it was concluded that climate change is generally projected to adversely affect the performance of clay embankments both in the long-term and during extreme events, which can negatively impact critical national transportation infrastructure and disrupt the movement of people and goods