Anchored Pile-Plate System in the Prevention of High-Fill Embankment Landslide

ABSTRACT Embankment failures frequently occur worldwide, and maintaining the stability of embankments built on steep terrain presents new and severe challenges. This paper presents a novel anchored pile-plate system for preventing high-fill embankment landslides and systematically introduces its construction method. The proposed system integrates discrete piles, pre-stressed anchors, and retaining plates into a collaborative support structure. A series of field tests was conducted on a high-fill embankment in China to investigate the mechanical performance and reinforcement effect of the system during construction. Monitoring data, including pile displacement, anchor pre-stress, and earth pressure on piles and plates, were analysed. The results indicate that the high-fill embankment remains stable under the support of the anchored pile-plate system, with only minor displacement fluctuations during filling. The earth pressure distribution is approximately triangular on piles but parabolic on plates. Due to the soil arching effect, the earth pressure on piles near the sliding surface is over four times that on plates. The pre-stressed anchors act as active reinforcement, and their longterm pre-stress can retain more than 85% of the design value. The anchored pile-plate system provides a reliable and effective solution for high-fill embankment landslide control, and can be widely applied in steep slope embankment projects and other infrastructure engineering.