Climate warming and human activities can lead to increases in the temperature of permafrost and to thawing. In regions of discontinuous permafrost, thawing may produce thickening of the active layer, large settlements and non-recoverable shear deformations in soft foundations such as peats and clays frequently found in Northern Canada. The use of geosynthetics reinforcements has been considered as one of the adaptation strategies for roads and railways impacted by climate change. It is important to improve the understanding of the operating mechanisms of both reinforced and unreinforced embankments on thawed peat land and degraded permafrost. This paper presents the results of a laboratory experimental study on the deformations patterns of foundation beneath geosynthetic-reinforced and unreinforced embankments. Artificial transparent clay that has similar properties with that of soft soils represents the foundation material. The monitoring system consists of a laser source that optically slices the transparent clay and a high-resolution digital camera that captures the images of soil deformations. Spatial deformations beneath the embankment were determined using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique. Results of this study provide insight into the nature of deformations and mechanisms producing functional failure of embankments on peat land and degraded permafrost.
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