Interface pullout resistance of polymeric strips embedded in marginal tropical soils

This paper presents an experimental and analytical evaluation of factors affecting the interface pullout resistance of polymeric strips embedded in marginal soils, with a particular interest in supporting the partial replacement of natural sands by intensely weathered tropical soils in reinforced soil structures, which have often been considered marginal fills in design guidelines. Large-scale pullout tests were conducted to evaluate the soil-geosynthetic interface pullout resistance, which also provided quantitative insight into the local increases in vertical stresses acting on the reinforcements due to pullout. Based on the experiments, analytical models were developed and calibrated to establish the relationship between confinement and soil-geosynthetic interface pullout resistance. The relationship between actual and initial stresses could then be represented in terms of a linear model in which the angular coefficient corresponds to the ratio between the apparent and actual friction coefficients (f*/f). This analytical relationship was found to represent a useful design tool since it directly correlates with soil geotechnical properties. The use of lateritic soils to partially replace coarse-grained soils in reinforced soil structures was found to be feasible for mixtures involving up to 25% of lateritic soils, with higher fractions affecting the interface resistance significantly.     

Numerical investigation of reinforcement pullout resistance effects on behavior of geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) piers

In this study, three-dimensional numerical analyses were carried out to investigate the effects of reinforcement pullout resistance including facing connection strength on the behavior of geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) piers under a service load condition. Three different piers were investigated in this study, which simulated different levels of reinforcement pullout resistance. Each pier had two cases with different reinforcement stiffness J and reinforcement spacing S_v but the same ratio of J/S_v. Numerical results showed that reinforcement pullout resistance had a significant effect on the behavior of GRS piers. When the pullout mode prevailed, the case with small S_v and low J had smaller lateral facing displacements and vertical strain of the pier under the same applied pressure as compared to the case with large S_v and high J when the ratio of J/S_v was kept constant. When the pullout mode did not prevail, two cases with the same ratio of J/S_v showed similar performance despite different combinations of S_v and J were used. To more effectively mobilize reinforcement strength and improve GRS pier performance, small reinforcement spacing or high-strength facing connection should be considered when sufficient reinforcement pullout resistance cannot be guaranteed otherwise.     

Bottom ash as a backfill material in reinforced soil structures

The paper describes the interface behaviour of bottom ash, obtained from two thermal power plants, and geogrid for possible utilization as a reinforced fill material in reinforced soil structures. Pullout tests were conducted on polyester geogrid embedded in compacted bottom ash samples as per ASTM D6706-01. Locally available natural sand was used as a reference material. The pullout resistance offered by geogrid embedded in bottom ash was almost identical to that in sand. In order to study the influence of placement condition of the material on pullout resistance, test were conducted on uncompacted fill materials. Pullout resistance offered by geogrids embedded in uncompacted specimen reduced by 30–60% than that at the compacted condition.     

Analyzing the influence of facing batter on reinforcement loads of reinforced soil walls under working stress conditions

The level of reinforcement loads in a reinforced soil retaining wall is important to its satisfactory operation under working stress conditions since it basically determines the wall deformation. Consequently, proper estimation of the reinforcement load is a necessary step in the service limit-state design of this type of earth retaining structures. In this study, a force equilibrium approach is proposed to quantify the influence of facing batter on the reinforcement loads of reinforced soil walls under working stress conditions. The approach is then combined with a nonlinear elastic approach for GRS walls without batter to estimate the reinforcement loads neglecting toe restraint. The approximate average mobilized soil strength in the retaining wall is employed in the force equilibrium analysis. The predictions of reinforcement loads by the proposed method were compared to the experimental results from four large-scale tests. It is shown that the proposed semianalytical approach has the capacity to reproduce the reinforcement loads with acceptable accuracy. Some remaining issues are also pinpointed.     

Effect of infiltration on the performance of an unsaturated geotextile-reinforced soil wall

A full-scale geotextile-reinforced soil wall was built in order to assess the characteristics of water infiltration and its effect on the structure performance. Nonwoven geotextiles were selected as inclusions in order to provide not only reinforcement, but also internal drainage to the fine-grained soil used as backfill material. The structure was built in a laboratory setting, which facilitated implementation of a thorough instrumentation plan to measure volumetric water content changes of soil, suction, facing displacements and reinforcement strains. An irrigation system was used to simulate controlled rainfall events. The monitoring program allowed the evaluation of the advancement of infiltration and internal geosynthetic drainage. Evaluation of the effect of the hydraulic response on the overall performance of the structure included assessment of the development of capillary breaks at soil-geotextiles interfaces. Capillary breaks resulted in water storage above the geotextile reinforcements and led to retardation of the infiltration front in comparison to the infiltration that would occur without the presence of permeable reinforcements. After breakthrough, water was also found to migrate along the geotextiles, suggesting that the reinforcement layers ultimately provided in-plane drainage capacity. While generation of positive pore water pressures was not evidenced during the tests, the advancing infiltration front was found to affect the performance of the wall. Specifically, infiltration led to increasing reinforcement strains and facing displacements, as well as to the progressive loss of suction. While the accumulation of water due to the temporary capillary break also resulted in an increased backfill unit weight, its effect on deformation of the wall was not possible to be captured but it is intrinsic on the overall behavior observed in this study. Correlations between reinforcement strains/face displacement and the average of suction in the backfill soil, as measured by tensiometers in different locations within the backfill mass, point to the relevance of the suction as a representative indicator of the deformability of the geotextile-reinforced wall subjected to water infiltration. Reinforcement strains and face displacements were found to reduce more significantly with reduction of suction until a certain value of suction from which the rate of decreasing declines.     

Pullout tests on diagonally enhanced geocells embedded in sand to improve load-deformation response subjected to significant planar tensile loads

This paper presents pullout test results on conventional (ordinary) and diagonally enhanced geocells under surcharge pressures of 3, 13, 23 and 33 kPa. Extensive pullout tests on scaled geocells embedded in silica sand are performed to investigate the effects of improvements on load-deformation response, strength and stiffness. Conventional web-shaped geocells are having a small stiffness when subjected to planar tension attributed to deformability of webs. Therefore, conventional geocells may not function properly when subjected to tensile forces along the main plane in service. A special geocell is fabricated in this study, similar to tendoned geocells, through adding diagonal members along the induced tensile load to overcome the shortcomings of conventional geocells. The test results have shown that both the stiffness and ultimate resistance of the diagonally enhanced geocells have significantly improved with respect to the conventional ones. Afterwards, three experiments were carried out on a small-scale shallow footing resting on sand reinforced with geocells, indicating improvement in bearing capacity as well as load-settlement response of footings supported by the diagonally enhanced geocells as compared to conventional geocells.     

A simplified approach to assess seismic stability of tailings dams

In the zones of high seismic activity, tailings dam should be assessed for the stability against earthquake forces. In the present paper, a simplified method is proposed to compute the factor of safety of tailings dams. The strain-dependent dynamic properties are used to assess the stability of tailings dams under seismic conditions. The effect of foundation soil properties on the seismic stability of tailings dams is studied using the proposed method. For the given input parameters, the factor of safety for low-frequency input motions is nearly 26% lower than that for high-frequency input excitations. The impedance ratio and the depth of foundation have significant effect on the seismic factor of safety of tailings dams. The results from the proposed method are well compared with the existing pseudo-static method of analysis. Tailings dams are vulnerable to damage for low-frequency input motions.     

格宾加筋土挡墙抗震性能及数值分析

基于有限差分程序FLAC3D动力分析模块,建立水平地震作用下格宾加筋土挡墙足尺数值模型,通过抗震模型试验结果验证数值模型的可靠性,分析不同强度地震波作用、不同竖向加筋间距时,格宾加筋土挡墙的水平位移响应、震陷、加速度响应及破坏模式,在此基础上,提出格宾加筋土挡墙抗震设计相关措施与建议。结果表明:在不同峰值加速度作用下,格宾加筋土挡墙没有出现倒塌破坏,在较大的水平位移及沉降发生后仍能继续承载,表现出良好的抗震性能;在地震波频率特性基本不变的情况下增长加速度峰值,墙面加速度放大系数有减小的趋势;格宾加筋土挡墙建造于7度及以下、8度、9度及以上抗震设防区时,格宾网竖向间距分别不宜大于1.0m、0.75m、0.5m;水平地震作用下挡墙潜在破裂面为双线段组合形式;提出格宾加筋土挡墙抗震设计位移控制标准。     

New procedure for active earth pressure calculation in retaining walls with reinforced cohesive-frictional backfill

A new approach is suggested to determine the active earth pressure on retaining walls with reinforced and unreinforced cohesive-frictional backfill based on the horizontal slices method. A 4n formulation for unreinforced backfill and a 5n formulation for reinforced backfill are introduced and the tensile forces of the reinforcements and angle of failure wedge are calculated. The proposed method shows that the variation of active earth pressure by the depth of the wall in cohesive-frictional soils has a non-linear distribution. Also, the point of application of the pressure always shifts to the lower two-thirds of the wall height. The angle of failure wedge for cohesive-frictional soils increases linearly with an increase in the cohesive strength of the soil. A comparison of the analytical results obtained from the proposed method with those of previous research and AASHTO method results shows a negligible difference. The analytical method presented can be used to calculate the active earth pressure, tensile force of reinforcements and angle of failure wedge for unreinforced and reinforced walls in cohesive-frictional soil.     

侧向荷载下剪力墙问题的解析解

剪力墙是高层建筑结构的主要抗侧力构件之一。本文利用结构的对称条件,采用半逆解法得到了自重和水平荷载作用下剪力墙结构的应力解析解,并较好地满足了边界条件,可供结构设计参考。     

水平与竖向地震作用下土工格栅加筋土挡墙动力分析

应用动力弹塑性有限元方法,研究了各种设计参数对土工格栅加筋土挡墙动力响应的影响。应用了可以描述砂性土非线性静动力性能的弹塑性模型模拟填土;采用可以描述土工格栅在反复受载情况下滞回性质的边界面弹塑性模型模拟加筋层;土与结构的相互作用由一种可以描述界面滑移、脱开及闭合的有厚度薄层单元模拟。在有限元分析中同时考虑了水平与竖直两种地震激励。研究内容包括竖向地震影响、加筋长度、加筋层间隔、面板预制混凝土块重量、面板与填土界面摩擦角、预制混凝土块之间摩擦角等对加筋土挡墙变形、加筋层内力等的影响。     

地震荷载下重力式挡土墙的抗倾覆稳定性分析

基于平面滑裂面假设,采用水平层分析法推导了地震荷载作用下的主动土压力计算公式,并给出了地震土压力沿墙高的分布及土压力合力作用点的位置。在此基础上提出了重力式挡土墙的抗倾覆稳定性验算公式,为实际工程中挡土墙抗震设计提供了理论依据。稳定性分析结果表明,随着水平地震荷载的增大,抗倾覆稳定性显著降低。     

Influence of cyclic tensile loading on pullout resistance of geogrids embedded in a compacted granular soil

This paper deals with some results of a wide experimental research carried out in order to study factors affecting cyclic and post-cyclic pullout behaviour of different geogrids embedded in a granular soil. The new test procedure developed (multistage pullout test) and the relative results are described. In particular, test results obtained using the constant rate of displacement (CRD) and the multistage pullout tests highlighted the influence of the different factors involved in the research (cyclic load amplitude and frequency, vertical confining stress, geogrid tensile stiffness and structure) both on the peak pullout resistance and on the peak apparent coefficient of friction mobilized at the interface.     

加筋土挡土墙在高烈度地震区的应用

对高烈度地震区的松软土地基上修建挡土墙的墙型按照适用范围、造价、工期、环保等条件进行分析,并结合TB10025-2001铁路路基支挡结构设计规范,对加筋土挡土墙设计过程中筋带的选择、筋带与墙面板的连接等常见问题进行了研究,给出了一些指导性建议。     

Numerical evaluation of the effect of foundation on the behaviour of reinforced soil walls

This study numerically investigates the influence of foundation conditions, in combination with other factors such as wall height and reinforcement and facing stiffness, on the behaviour of reinforced soil walls (RSWs) under working stress conditions. The foundation was simulated using different stiffnesses and geometries (with and without slope). The results highlight the importance of the combined effect of foundation conditions and the abovementioned factors on the performance of RSWs. The results of these analyses indicate that the shape of the distribution of the maximum reinforcement loads (T_max) with respect to wall height depends on the combined effect of the foundation condition, facing and reinforcement stiffness, and wall height, and varies from trapezoidal to triangular. Additionally, the results indicate that the effect of variations in foundation stiffness on reinforcement tension mobilisation decreases with wall height. Furthermore, the T_max prediction accuracy of three design methods were evaluated and some limitations of each method are presented and discussed.     

Upper bound seismic limit analysis of geosynthetic-reinforced unsaturated soil walls

The assessment of the internal stability of geosynthetic-reinforced earth retaining walls has historically been investigated in previous studies assuming dry backfills. However, the majority of the failures of these structures are caused by the water presence. The studies including the water presence in the backfill are scarce and often consider saturated backfills. In reality, most soils are unsaturated in nature and the matric suction plays an important role in the wall's stability. This paper investigates the internal seismic stability of geosynthetic-reinforced unsaturated earth retaining walls. The groundwater level can be located at any reinforced backfill depth. Several nonlinear equations relating the unsaturated soil shear strength to the matric suction and different backfill type of soils are considered in this study. The log-spiral failure mechanism generated by the point-to-point method is considered. The upper-bound theorem of the limit analysis is used to evaluate the strength required to maintain the reinforced soil walls stability and the seismic loading are represented by the pseudo-dynamic approach. A parametric study showed that the required reinforcement strength is influenced by several parameters such as the soil friction angle, the horizontal seismic coefficient, the water table level, the matric suction distribution as well as the soil types and the unsaturated soils shear strength.     

A new approach for the computation of design shear force in reinforced concrete walls subjected to seismic loads

This paper investigates the dynamic shear amplification in reinforced concrete shear walls designed according to the seismic provisions of the current Turkish Building Earthquake Code (TBEC-2018). Shear walls with a high ductility level and different aspect ratios are examined to evaluate the design shear force calculated by using the dynamic amplification factor (β_v) and overstrength factor (D) defined in TBEC-2018. For this purpose, response spectrum analyses (RSAs) are first carried out on two-dimensional cantilever shear walls with heights of 30, 45, and 60 m and with lengths of 1.5, 3, and 4.5 m in the plan. Then, a total of 198 nonlinear time history analyses (NLTHAs) are performed with real and simulated ground motions matched to the elastic design spectrum defined in TBEC-2018. The comparison of the design shear forces obtained from RSA and the shear demands obtained from NLTHA along the heights of the walls reveals that the design shear forces calculated according to TBEC-2018 may underestimate the actual shear demands from studied ground motions. Moreover, the applicability of the updates proposed to TBEC-2018 for the design shear force and shear force diagram along the wall height in reinforced concrete shear wall-frame systems to cantilever shear walls is also examined.     

One-step analytical method for required reinforcement stiffness of vertical reinforced soil wall with given factor of safety on backfill soil

The selection of geosynthetic reinforcements in the design of geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) retaining walls has been based on the requirement on the long-term strength. However, the mobilized loads in the reinforcements are related to both the reinforcement stiffness and soil deformation, and the desired factor of safety may not exist in the earth structure if they are not properly considered. Therefore, it is also important to take into account the long-term reinforcement stiffness when designing GRS retaining walls. In this study, a simplistic analytical method is proposed to determine the required reinforcement stiffness with given factor of safety on the backfill soil. The method takes into account soil-reinforcement interaction, nonlinear stress-strain behavior of soil, and soil dilatancy. The reinforcement strains predicted by the proposed method were compared to those analyzed by validated nonlinear Finite Element analyses, and close agreement was obtained.     

Internal stability analysis of geocell-reinforced slopes subjected to seismic loading based on pseudo-static approach

Seismic stability analysis of geocell-reinforced slopes (GRSs), considering shear and moment strength in addition to tensile resistance for geocells, is a novel topic for which scarce studies are found in the literature. Despite few available studies, an analytical approach is presented in this study to investigate the seismic internal stability of GRSs, employing the pseudo-static method based on a limit state approach. Results are given in terms of conventional design charts representing the required total strength and critical length of geocells. The results show that with increasing the horizontal seismic acceleration (k_h), the internal stability degenerates since the required strength and critical length of geocells increase. For GRSs subjected to greater k_h, the effect of increasing the vertical seismic component (k_v) on increasing the required strength and length of geocells is more considerable than those subjected to lower k_h values. Parametric analyses are conducted, under various seismic conditions, to investigate the effect of increasing the geocell height and raising the number of geocell layers, leading to the reduction in the required strength and length of geocells. Such effects are found to be dependent on the parameters such as the intensity of seismic excitation, material properties and geometry of slope.     

近50年剪力墙结构震害及其对抗震设计的启示

简要回顾和分析了近50年国内外8次大地震中现浇钢筋混凝土剪力墙结构的抗震性能表现和典型震害特点;对日本神户某10层公寓2号楼和智利Torre Alto Rio公寓,利用推覆程序,分析对比按我国规范设计与原设计的结构抗震性能表现。在此基础上,提出剪力墙结构抗震设计的三点启示： 1） 规则的剪力墙结构具有良好的抗震性能,在强烈地震作用下结构和非结构构件的损坏较少; 2） 我国规范规定的剪力墙结构地震作用计算、构件承载力计算以及剪力墙结构的侧向刚度要求,均具有合适的安全度,规范中规定的结构规则性要求及剪力墙端部边缘构件的设计要求是必要的; 3） 对房屋高度超过规范规定的适用高度以及结构体型和布置复杂的剪力墙结构,建议采用规范规定的“性能设计”方法,对剪力墙结构的轴压比控制及约束边缘构件设置的要求宜进一步改进。