Intervention Works Conducted to Ensure the Stability of a Slope: A Sustainability Study

Mircea Raul Tudorica () and Corneliu Ioan Bob
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Mircea Raul Tudorica: Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Constructions, Cadaster and Architecture, University of Oradea, 410058 Oradea, Romania
Corneliu Ioan Bob: Department of Civil Engineering and Installations, Faculty of Civil Engineering, “Polytechnic” University of Timisoara, 300233 Timisoara, Romania

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: Challenges related to sustainability arise in all areas of human activity, but with a significant impact on the environment considering that the construction industry is held accountable for nearly one-third of the world’s final energy consumption. The aim of this paper is to assess through the use of the Bob–Dencsak specific model a sustainable slope design taking into account environmental, economic, and safety variables. Thus, analysis was performed on four intervention works, two versions of reinforced concrete retaining walls and two versions of reinforced soil with a biaxial geogrid, which ensure the stability of a slope that serves as a base for an access road to an ecological landfill located in Alba County, Romania. The study’s analysis points out that reinforced soil retaining walls are far more sustainable, providing the best sustainability indices, which is also supported by the impact of geogrids compared to reinforced concrete, thus resulting in the finding that reinforced concrete is less sustainable, achieving increases of up to 23% for embodied energy and 66% of CO 2 emissions in the atmosphere. Finally, the paper provides recommendations for future research on the sustainability assessment of slopes, with the intention of reducing environmental damage, while keeping costs to a minimum.

Keywords: sustainability; safety factor; embodied energy; GHG gas emissions; retaining wall; reinforced concrete; environmental protection; geogrids; soil improvement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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