Experimental, numerical, and analytical investigation of the effect of compaction-induced stress on the behavior of reinforced soil walls

Abstract

The influence of the compaction-induced stress (CIS) is experimentally, numerically and analytically evaluated on the behavior of reinforced soil walls (RSWs), under working stress conditions. Experimental studies have been carried out to evaluate the effect of the compaction condition at the back of the block facing on the behavior of geosyntheticreinforced soil walls using three large-scale geosynthetic-reinforced soil walls constructed at the COPPE/UFRJ Geotechnical Laboratory. The numerical analyses have been carried out using the two-dimensional finite difference computer program FLAC to verify the influence of the compaction modelling procedure at the end of construction as well as post-construction performance of a full-scale geosynthetic-reinforced soil, GRS, segmental wall under surcharge loading. Two procedures for modelling the CIS found in the literature were employed in the analyses. Moreover, the calculated values using two design methods have been compared to the measurements and numerically calculated maximum reinforcement load, T max , to evaluate the prediction accuracy of these methods when the value of the CIS is relevant.

Geosynthetic reinforced soil retaining walls with cohesive backfills

“…Clearly, the larger displacements took place during construction and compaction of the soil backfill, with the wall model being less sensitive to postconstruction movements. According to Mirmoradi and Nascimento (2020) this effect can be attributed to a type of over-consolidation or pre-loading of the reinforced soil due to compaction effort. Indeed, the maximum post-construction displacements during surcharging reached a maximum of 2.61 mm at elevation 101.5 mm (reinforcement layer 4), about 70% of the wall height (0.7H).…”