Influence of foundation compressibility on reinforcement loads in geosynthetic reinforced soil walls
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A numerical FLAC model was used to investigate the influence of vertical stiffness of the foundation on the performance of an idealized 6-m high reinforced soil modular block retaining wall. Three different Winkler linear spring values were used to simulate a rigid foundation and two compliant foundation cases. For each foundation condition, the influence of reinforcement material stiffness was also investigated. One material matched the properties of a relatively extensible polymeric geogrid product and the other a relatively inextensible welded wire mesh material with much higher stiffness but the same strength. The results of sim-ulations show that as foundation stiffness decreases, reinforcement loads increase. However, for the two rein-forcement materials in this study, the influence of axial stiffness of the reinforcement had a greater effect on wall performance than the foundation stiffness for walls subjected to operational (working stress) conditions at end of construction. (576,6Kb) (Restricted access)
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Document typeConference report
Defense date2012
PublisherInternational Geosynthetics Society (IGS)
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Abstract
CitationBathurst, R.J. [et al.]. Influence of foundation compressibility on reinforcement loads in geosynthetic reinforced soil walls. A: European Geosynthetics Congress. "Proceedings of the 5th European Geosynthetics Congress: vol. 5: Soil Improvement and Reinforcement". València: International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), 2012, p. 43-47.
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| Files | Description | Size | Format | View |
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Paper 313 Bathurst et al final.pdf | A numerical FLAC model was used to investigate the influence of vertical stiffness of the foundation on the performance of an idealized 6-m high reinforced soil modular block retaining wall. Three different Winkler linear spring values were used to simulate a rigid foundation and two compliant foundation cases. For each foundation condition, the influence of reinforcement material stiffness was also investigated. One material matched the properties of a relatively extensible polymeric geogrid product and the other a relatively inextensible welded wire mesh material with much higher stiffness but the same strength. The results of sim-ulations show that as foundation stiffness decreases, reinforcement loads increase. However, for the two rein-forcement materials in this study, the influence of axial stiffness of the reinforcement had a greater effect on wall performance than the foundation stiffness for walls subjected to operational (working stress) conditions at end of construction. | 576,6Kb | Restricted access |