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JDR Vol.18 No.7 pp. 715-728
(2023)
doi: 10.20965/jdr.2023.p0715

Paper:

Failure Mechanism and Deformation-Based Design of Narrow Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Walls

Wen-Yi Hung* ORCID Icon, Truong-Nhat-Phuong Pham**,† ORCID Icon, and Susannah Boer***

*Department of Civil Engineering, National Central University
No.300 Zhongda Road, Zhongli District, Taoyuan 32001, Taiwan

**NT Construction Solutions Pty. Ltd.
Pineland, Australia

Corresponding author

***GHD Pty. Ltd.
Darwin, Australia

Received:
September 27, 2022
Accepted:
July 25, 2023
Published:
October 1, 2023
Keywords:
narrow geosynthetic reinforced soil wall, deformation-based design, horizontal displacement, lateral earth pressure, reduction factor
Abstract

In recent years, the working performance of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls has shown their outstanding stability and capacity to accommodate large deformation. The behavior and failure mechanisms of conventional MSE walls have been carefully examined. In cases where space is limited, such as in mountainous regions, in coastal regions, and for road expansion, the conventional MSE wall can be modified by adjusting the length of reinforcement to conform the construction area. For narrow geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) wall, the modification and arrangement of reinforcement components, including reinforcement tensile strength, vertical spacing, and aspect ratio, play key roles in the behavior of reinforced earth walls and can also lead to differences in the distribution of lateral earth pressure compared with conventional MSE walls. In this study, a series of geotechnical centrifuge tests are conducted to clarify the failure behaviors, distribution of lateral earth pressure, and deformation progresses of narrow GRS walls. Among the investigated variants, it is verified that improved reinforcement strength leads to a significant decrease in horizontal wall displacement. The relationship among lateral earth pressure, zero-earth-pressure zone, and horizontal displacement can be applied to predict the deformation of a narrow GRS wall.

Cite this article as:
W. Hung, T. Pham, and S. Boer, “Failure Mechanism and Deformation-Based Design of Narrow Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Walls,” J. Disaster Res., Vol.18 No.7, pp. 715-728, 2023.
Data files:
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Last updated on Dec. 02, 2024