Model studies on polymer strip reinforced soil retaining walls

Abstract

Polymer strip (PS) reinforced soil retaining walls (RSRW) are in common use due to the associated construction speed, ease of use, aesthetic appeal and low cost. It is quite significant to estimate the deformation behavior of this types of walls before construction. In this study, firstly, a full-scale field model of PS-RSRW was constructed and instrumented. According to the experimental result, the maximum measured displacements occurred at 30% of the height down from the top of the wall. The maximum tensile loads in the reinforcements were measured at a distance of 40% of the wall height from the face of the wall. Then, a two-dimensional (2D) finite element method (FEM) model was established and calibrated with experimental data from the field model. The predicted displacements of the wall facing showed reasonable agreement with the measured deformations. The reinforcement loads calculated from the validated FEM model were also compared with theoretical methods. Finally, RSRW having different heights were numerically modeled with various combinations of materials utilized for filling and reinforcement. The effects of parameters such as wall height (H), reinforcement length (L) and reinforcement interval (Sv) on the horizontal wall displacement and on the reinforcement loads are investigated through parametric analyses.