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Analyze and Validate Bearing Pressure Requirements for Truncated Base Mechanically-Stabilized Earth/Geosynthetically-Reinforced Soil (GRS) Walls
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2020-02-01
[PDF-4.72 MB]
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Edition:Final Report
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Abstract:Truncated base mechanically-stabilized earth (MSE) walls are the MSE walls with narrow base excavation length and steep excavation slope designed to save construction cost while pushing the technological envelope of geosynthetic reinforcement development. A wall with truncated geometry of a narrow base length and steep excavation slope can significantly increase its base bearing pressure. The truncated base wall, an innovated version of regular MSE wall of uniform geosynthetic reinforcement length (RL) equals to 70% of design height (DH) to linearly varied length of geosynthetic reinforcement with an average length equals to 70% of design wall height at mid-wall height. Under this assumption, for instance, the shortest reinforcement RL is 45% DH at the wall base, RL increases linearly from the base to 95% DH at the wall top. The wall with this geometry can limit the magnitude of wall-top surcharge due to potential MSE wall stability concern. The base pressures in Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Bridge worksheets were calculated using overturning analysis with reduced bearing width (Meyerhof method) from a regular base wall with 70% wall design height. This study aims to calibrate the values of base bearing pressures and develop optimal design geometry with the Colorado Class I backfill at different placement spacing. Large-scale Tiger Cage truncated wall tests were performed with comprehensive earth pressure measurements along the wall and base. The base bearing pressures were checked favorably with the results of finite element analyses and found much smaller than the pressures recommended in the CDOT Bridge worksheets due to the arching effects with the vertical pressure transfer from backfill and surcharge loads to the back of the block facing wall and excavated slope. The wall façade blocks experience vertical stresses that increase with the depth of backfill.
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