# Systematic review of gabion-faced geogrid and pile systems for slope and embankment stability

## TL;DR

This paper reviews hybrid systems for slope stabilization, showing how they improve safety and reduce settlement under various environmental stresses.

## Contribution

The study introduces a systematic review method incorporating multi-field coupling and SSI for hybrid slope-stabilization systems.

## Key findings

- Hybrid systems can improve slope safety by up to 45% and reduce settlement by over 30%.
- Current limitations include optimization practices, long-term monitoring, and design standardization.
- The review highlights the need for uncertainty-aware and performance-based slope design.

## Abstract

•Synthesises mechanisms and performance trends of gabion-geogrid-pile and GEC-based hybrid systems under coupled hydro-mechanical and seismic loading.•Identifies critical design parameters and modelling gaps, including SSI treatment, coupling strategy, mesh convergence, and drainage representation.•Proposes methodological and practical advances, including reliability-based design optimisation (RBDO), minimum reporting standards, and standardised long-term monitoring protocols to support calibration, life-cycle cost analysis, and sustainable design.

Synthesises mechanisms and performance trends of gabion-geogrid-pile and GEC-based hybrid systems under coupled hydro-mechanical and seismic loading.

Identifies critical design parameters and modelling gaps, including SSI treatment, coupling strategy, mesh convergence, and drainage representation.

Proposes methodological and practical advances, including reliability-based design optimisation (RBDO), minimum reporting standards, and standardised long-term monitoring protocols to support calibration, life-cycle cost analysis, and sustainable design.

Slope instability is a major geotechnical hazard intensified by rainfall infiltration, seismic loading, groundwater fluctuations, and human disturbances. Composite reinforcement systems—such as gabion-faced geogrid walls combined with piles or geosynthetic-encased columns (GECs)—are increasingly implemented to address multi-hazard conditions. This study presents a PRISMA-guided systematic review of empirical, numerical, centrifuge, and field investigations on hybrid slope-stabilization systems. The review advances prior work by explicitly incorporating multi-field coupling and soil–structure interaction (SSI) terms into the search strategy, applying transparent screening and data-extraction procedures supported by a reusable metadata codebook, and conducting cross-study triangulation across field evidence, centrifuge modelling, and 2D/3D numerical analyses. The synthesized evidence shows that hybrid systems can significantly enhance slope performance, with reported improvements of up to ∼45 % in factor of safety and >30 % reduction in settlement, depending on reinforcement configuration, soil conditions, and coupled rainfall–seismic effects. The study further highlights current limitations in optimisation practice, long-term monitoring, and design standardisation, and outlines directions for uncertainty-aware and performance-based slope design.

Image, graphical abstract