Stability evaluation of earth-rock dam reinforcement with new permeable polymer based on reliability method

•A reliability method considering spatial variability of reinforcement effect is proposed.•The reinforcement effect of a new permeable polymer material for earth-rock dam is evaluated.•The reliability calculation program of stochastic field generated by K-L series expansion method is established. The stability of earth-rock dam slope has always been the focus of engineers. The existing dam slope reinforcement measures mainly include anchor rods, anchor cables, soil nails, frame lattice beams, micro-piles and so on. However, the construction technology of these reinforcement measures is relatively complex and will cause disturbances to varying degrees in the construction process. In this paper, a new type of permeable polymer material is proposed for grouting anti-seepage reinforcement of dam slopes, and a stochastic field model of slope parameters after reinforcement is established. By analyzing the safety factor and failure probability of different types slope before and after reinforcement, it can be found that the safety factor of the slope can be greatly improved after the slope is reinforced with permeable polymer grouting; as the gradient increases, although the reinforcement effect decreases slightly, it can still have a good reinforcement effect; as the slope height increases, the reinforcement effect decreases gradually; in general, for medium and low slopes, the improvement effect of safety factor can reach about 50%; in the aspect of slope reinforcement of earth-rock dam, permeable high polymer is more suitable for middle and low earth-rock dam reinforcement.