Deep foundations and ground improvement for the slope stability of the Disueri dam (Italy)

The paper describes the study of the geotechnical challenges and safety measures adopted for the Disueri Dam's left side in order to restrict the subsidence phenomena detected during the geotechnical investigations carried out between 2013 and 2014. These investigations witnessed several karst cavities due to the dissolution of the gypsum composing the subsoil of dam's left side. As the dissolution process can't be stopped because the gypsum's volume can be isolated permanently, it was considered appropriate to restrict the dissolution's effect: the cavities will be filled and a structural mesh will be located at the base of the slope by bored piles connected at the head for the slope stabilization. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed solution, a 3D finite element simulation was carried out. The FEM numerical analysis permits to estimate the improvement of the slope stability in terms of displacements, both in static and seismic conditions.