Geotechnics, Vol. 6, Pages 99: Hydro-Mechanical Performance Framework for Performance-Based Quality Control of Excavated-Material Fills
Geotechnics doi: 10.3390/geotechnics6040099
Authors:
Carlos Buenahora
Fabián Castellanos
Antonio Martínez-Graña
Excavated-Material Disposal Areas (ZODMES) exhibit high physical, hydraulic, and mechanical variability, whereas quality control typically focuses on compaction without verifying whether the shear-strength parameters adopted in design remain representative. This study develops a Hydro-Mechanical Performance Framework that integrates matric suction, stiffness measured with a lightweight deflectometer, shear strength, and slope stability to establish performance-based quality control. The framework was validated through laboratory and field testing, characterization of the soil-water characteristic curve, infiltration modeling, limit-equilibrium analysis, Monte Carlo simulations, and sensitivity analysis. Target moduli of 76 and 68 MPa were established for the two soil types evaluated. The 1.5H:1.0V slope geometry exhibited the best performance, increasing the pseudostatic factor of safety from 1.411 to 1.674 and reducing the probability of failure from 3.40% to 0.10% relative to the 1.0H:1.0V slope. Cohesion was the parameter with the greatest influence on stability (R2 = 0.91–0.93). The framework provides a quantitative procedure for linking field hydro-mechanical conditions to design assumptions; it does not replace conventional geotechnical testing and requires material-specific calibration.