16-10-2014

APPLICATION OF
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

AnalysisandDesignof
MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall

CE451A

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

16-10-2014

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall

Morerecently,soilreinforcementhasbeenusedintheconstructionanddesignof
foundations,retainingwalls,embankmentslopes,andotherstructures.Such
reinforcementiscomparabletothatofconcretestructures.

WallisactedonbyeithertheRankine orCoulombactiveearthwedge.

Reinforcementmaterialsusedtoreinforcethebackfillofretainingwallsare
generallyreferredtoasmechanicallystabilizedretainingwalls.
Dependingonthetypeofconstruction,thereinforcementsmaybegalvanized
metalstrips,geotextiles,geogrids,orgeocomposites.
p ,g
,g g , g
p
Thebeneficialeffectsofsoilreinforcementderivefrom:
thesoilsincreasedtensileresistance(couldbeduetointernalconfinement
/apparentcohesion/enhancedfrictionangle)and
theshearresistancedevelopedfromthefrictionatthesoilreinforcement
interfaces.

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

DesignPhilosophy

Fullscaletestshaveverifiedthattheearthforcedevelopedfromthe
activeearthwedgeatanydepthziscarriedbyreinforcingstriptension.
Striptensionisdevelopedinthezoneoutsidetheactiveearthwedgefrom
tension is developed in the zone outside the active earth wedge from
Strip
thefrictionangle betweenreinforcement(strip/geosyntheticmaterial)
andsoilandtheverticalearthpressurezonthereinforcement.
Withnolateralearthpressurelefttobecarriedbythewallfacingsthey
canbequitethinandflexiblewiththeprincipalfunctionsoferosion
controlandappearance.

CE451A

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall
Generalconceptofmechanicallystabilisedreinforcedwallis
Ti=Pa cos (sotheearthforceagainstthewall/facingunitsiszero).

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall
Factorsconsideredwhiledesigningreinforcedearthwall
Backfillsoil:
Backfillsoilisusuallyspecifiedtobefreedraininggranularsoilthus,the
effectofporewaterdevelopmentincohesivesoils,which,inturn,reduces
theshearstrengthofthesoil,isavoided.
Recentresearchindicatesthatwecanusecohesivesoilifaporous
geotextile is used for reinforcement to allow backfill drainage.Thisallows
geotextileisusedforreinforcementtoallowbackfill
drainage This allows
onetousethedrainedfrictionangle'tocalculatefrictionbetweenthe
soilandreinforcement.
Forcohesivematerials,eitheruseanarrowverticalbackfacezoneof
granularmaterialor,alternatively,usestripsofapermeablegeotextile
forverticaldrainage.

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

16-10-2014

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall

Factorsconsideredwhiledesigningreinforcedearthwall

Factorsconsideredwhiledesigningreinforcedearthwall

Surcharge:
Surchargesareallowedonthebackfill.Theserequireanalysistoascertain
whethertheyarepermanent(suchasaroadway)ortemporaryandits
location.
Forexample:
Temporarysurchargeswithinthereinforcementzonewillincreasethe
lateral pressure which in turn increases the tension in the
lateralpressure,whichinturnincreasesthetensioninthe
reinforcementsbutdoesnotcontributetoreinforcementstability.

Surcharge:
Inmostcasesthelateralpressurefroma
backfillsurchargecanbeestimatedusing
theTheoryofElasticityequation
(Boussinesq equation)forvertical
pressure,butitmaybesufficiently
accuratetousethe2:1(2on1)method
h
(
)
h d
adjustedforplanestraincondition.

Permanentsurchargeswithinthereinforcementzonewillincreasethe
lateralpressureandtensioninthereinforcementsandwillcontribute
additionalverticalpressureforthereinforcementfriction.

Boussinesq
equationfor
pointload

2:1method

LabaandKennedy

Temporaryorpermanentsurchargesoutsidethereinforcementzone
contributealateralpressure,whichtendstooverturnthewall.

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall
Factorsconsideredwhiledesigningreinforcedearthwall

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall
Factorsconsideredwhiledesigningreinforcedearthwall
TrialWedge:
TestswithexperimentalwallsindicatethattheRankine wedge(ofangle
=45 +/2)adequatelydefinesthe"soilwedge."
Thisangleshouldberoutinelycheckedusingthetrialwedgemethodfor
largebackfill angles.

Totalverticalstress:

Activecondition:
A
ti
diti
Thewallshouldbesufficientlyflexiblethattheactiveearthpressurewedge
formsandanysettlement/subsidencedoesnottearthefacingunitfromthe
reinforcement.
Zerostressonwallfacing:
Itisusualtoassumeallthetensionstressesareinthereinforcement
outsidetheassumedsoilwedgezone (typicallythedistancele)

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

16-10-2014

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall
Factorsconsideredwhiledesigningreinforcedearthwall

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall
AnalysisandDesignofMechanicallyStabilisedRetainingwall

Corrosion:
Corrosionmaybeafactorwheremetalreinforcementsareused.Itis
commontoincreasethetheoreticalstripthicknesssomewhattoallowfor
possiblecorrosionwithinthedesignperiod,whichmaybeontheorderof50
to100years.
SSafetyFactors:
f t F t
TherewillbetwosafetyfactorsFSinvolved.
OneFSisusedtoreducetheultimatestrengthofthereinforcementsto
a"design"value.
TheotherFSisusedtoincreasethecomputedlengthlerequiredto
allowforanyuncertaintyinthebackfillpropertiesandsoilto
reinforcementfrictionangle .

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

Designunknowns:
Choosingappropriatetensile
reinforcement,backfillandwallfacing
Verticalandhorizontalspacingof
reinforcement
Length,widthandthicknessof
reinforcementortie
CE451A
Dr. Rajesh

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall

Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall
Internalstability

Designprocedure
Thegeneraldesignprocedureofanymechanicallystabilizedretaining
wallcanbedividedintotwoparts:
1.Satisfyinginternalstabilityrequirements
2.Checkingtheexternalstabilityofthewall

tiebreakingor
g
tiepullout??

Theinternalstabilitychecksinvolvedeterminingtensionand
pulloutresistanceinthereinforcingelementsandascertaining
theintegrityoffacingelements.
Theexternalstabilitychecksincludechecksforoverturning,
sliding,andbearingcapacityfailure.

Typicalsoil reinforcementinteractionmechanismsinareinforcedsoilstructure

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

16-10-2014

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall

Internalstability

Internalstability

Additionalpassive
resistanceingeogrid

Theinternalstabilitychecksinvolvedeterminingtensionandpulloutresistance
inthereinforcingelementsandascertainingtheintegrityoffacingelements.
Thereinforcementtiesateachlevel,andthusthewalls,couldfailbyeither(a)
tiebreakingor(b)tiepullout.
Reinforcingtiesatanydepthzwillfailbypulloutifthefrictionalresistance
developedalongthesurfacesofthetiesislessthantheforcetowhichtheties
are being subjected
arebeingsubjected.
Factorofsafetyagainsttiebreaking(thicknessofreinforcement)
Thetieforceperunitlengthofthe
walldevelopedatanydepthz=T

Typicalvaluesoftan

Thefactorofsafetyagainsttie
breakingFS(B)maybedeterminedas:

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall

Internalstability

Externalstability

Factorofsafetyagainstpullout(lengthofreinforcement)
Theeffectivelengthofthetiesalongwhichfrictionalresistanceisdevelopedmaybe
conservativelytakenasthelengththatextendsbeyondthelimitsoftheRankineactive
failurezone,whichisthezoneABC.LineBCmakesanangleof45+1/2 withhorizontal.
Themaximumfrictionforcethat
can be realized for a tie at depth z
canberealizedforatieatdepthz
Thefactorofsafetyagainsttie
pulloutatanydepthzis

FS with
respect to

Estimateleforagivenfactorofsafetyagainst
tiepullout
Totallengthoftiesatanydepthis

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

16-10-2014

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall
StepsinvolvesinthedesignofMSRW(Metallicstrip)

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall
StepsinvolvesinthedesignofMSRW(Metallicstrip)

(2.5to3)

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall
StepsinvolvesinthedesignofMSRW(Metallicstrip)

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall
StepsinvolvesinthedesignofMSRW(Geotextile)

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

16-10-2014

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall

MechanicallyStabilizedRetainingWall
StepsinvolvesinthedesignofMSRW(Geogrid)

StepsinvolvesinthedesignofMSRW(Geotextile)

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur

CE451A

Dr. Rajesh Sathiyamoorthy, IIT Kanpur