Investigating Performance of Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil Walls

Details

• Creators:
  Chou, Nelson N. S. ; Wu, Jonathan T. H.
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Colorado at Boulder. College of Engineering & Applied Science
• Corporate Contributors:
  Colorado. Department of Transportation ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Finite element method
  • Cohesive soils
  • Alternatives analysis
  • Computer programs
  • Design methods
  • Earth walls
  • Foundation soils
  • Geosynthetics
  • Laboratory tests
  • Material reinforcement
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  CDOT-UCD-R-93-21
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Colorado
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  Colorado. Department of Transportation
• Description:
  The comparative study of four finite element programs (SSCOMP, CRISP, CON2D86, and DACSAR) led to selecting DACSAR for this research. This program was then modified and validated for analyzing the performance of Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil (GRS). The validation was conducted by comparing the analytical results with a laboratory "element test" of soil, reinforcement, and facing; with another validated FEM program (SSCOMP); and with measurements from two full-scale test walls. Using the analytical model, a parametric study was conducted to investigate the effects of various factors on the performance of GRS walls: wall height, wall shape, backfill type, facing rigidity, reinforcement tensile stiffness/strength, and K of the backfill. The parametric study gave valuable insight into the performance of GRS walls. Some highlights of the findings are: (1) When kept near optimum moisture, cohesive backfill walls can perform at least as well as those with granular backfill provided that wetting of backfill is prevented; (2) Foundation soil has a significant influence on the wall performance; and (3) Wall facing affects lateral movement of GRS walls even under a service load of 5 psi.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/93884/dot_93884_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 10.85 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:510c58b2236e61fcdf6be3d6a79db44ad2726c5f55d397d32ea8e466009e7b03053765b68d60658bab1ce7c386303eeb7c57ce7c77fb59c57bc3a42d3172bd65