Experimental study on the anti-clogging ability of siphon drainage and engineering application

The safety of the slope retaining wall along the expressway is often threatened by groundwater, and the clogged drainage holes, which seriously affects the safety and stability of the retaining wall. To solve the clogging issue of the drainage hole, in this research, model tests and theoretical analysis were carried out to demonstrate the existing of clogging problem of the siphon drainage, the results showed that the soil particle (d < 1 mm) can be carried out by siphon drainage with 4 mm pipe diameter, the anti-clogging ability of siphon drainage with 4 mm pipe diameter was clarified. And the siphon drainage was applied to the retaining wall along the Longli Expressway. The monitoring data of the groundwater level showed that the groundwater level after the arrangement of siphon drainage was significantly decreased. There was no indication of clogging for the siphon drainage within the four-month of operation. It proves the implementation of siphon drainage method can effectively reduce the groundwater level behind the retaining wall in the rich water area, and it is a long-term method to treat the leakage hazard of the retaining wall.