8/9/2015

SOIL REINFORCEMENT
PRINCIPLES AND SYSTEM
DESIGN PROPERTIES
Lessons PW 5, 6 and 7
RM Chapter 3

Lesson Plan

PW Lesson 5 (RM Section 3.2)

PW Lesson 6 (RM Section 3.3 3.4)

Properties of Reinforced and Retained Fill Soils

Soil-reinforcement interaction

PW Lesson 7 (RM Section 3.5)

Reinforcement structural design properties

Steel corrosion, geosynthetic degradation, and
long-term design strength

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Properties of Reinforced
and Retained Fill Soils
PW Lesson 5
RM Chapter 3.2

Lesson 5 Learning Outcome

The participants will be able to:

Define the reinforced fill and retained backfill

soil parameters required for design

Identify issues/concerns with marginal fills

Soil Properties

Foundation soil

Reinforced fill

Retained fill

, wc, , c, cu , Cc, Cv
, , c, k, D50, Dmax, electrochemical
, , c, k, electrochemical

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Reinforced Fill Materials

Select backfill / AASHTO

Urban stone

Marginal materials

Select Granular Fill for MSEW

U.S. Sieve Size

Percent Passing

4-inch (102 mm)*

No. 40 (0.425 mm)

100
0 60

No. 200 (0.075 mm)

0 - 15

Plasticity Index (PI) shall not exceed 6

Soundness tests required
* in. for geosynthetics & epoxy or PVC coated steel
unless construction installation damage tests performed

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GRADATION AND SHEAR STRENGTH

(From research on sand ; after Schlosser and Long, 1972)

Gradation & Drainage

% Fines and
Permeability

After J. P. Powers (1992)

Construction Dewatering

Free Draining

(from NAVFAC DM-7.1)

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MSEW Fill Gradation

Max 15% fines for gravity drainage

and shear strength

Some fines needed to aid

compaction

Limit top size to prevent

reinforcement damage & for
compaction

Beware of problem soils!

Gap graded soils

Soils with Cu < 4 or >20

High strain soils (i.e., with mica,

gypsum, smectite, montmorilinite)

Recycled concrete or asphalt

Fine Grained Soil

Marginal

Reinforced
Fill?

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Marginal Reinforced Fill Issues

Property

Result

PI
Fines
Fines/PI

Marginal Reinforced Fill Issues

Property

PI
Fines
Fines/PI

Result

Horizontal Stress
Load Transfer
Construction Deformations
Creep Deformations
Drainage &
Water Pressure Problems
Corrosion

Reinforced Fill for RSS

U.S. Sieve Size

Percent Passing

4-inch (100 mm)*

No. 4 (4.76 mm)
No. 40 (0.425 mm)

100
100 - 20
0 60

No. 200 (0.075 mm)

0 - 50

Plasticity Index (PI) < 20

* in. for geosynthetics & epoxy or PVC coated steel
unless construction installation damage tests performed

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Reinforced fill

Contracting Agency should develop detailed

backfill specifications that uniformly apply to
all MSE wall systems

Backfill properties and specs do not replace

QC/QA inspection

Reinforced Fill

For MSE wall

-

use 34 friction angle

For RSS systems

-

allow > % fines

28 reasonable, but run test

Retained Backfill

Run tests to obtain backfill

properties or use conservative
values (e.g., 28)

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Reinforced Fill
Electrochemical Properties
Steel Reinforcements
Resistivity

> 3000 ohm-cm

AASHTO T-288

pH

> 5 and < 10

AASHTO T-289

Chlorides

100 ppm

ASTM D4327

Sulfates

200 ppm

ASTM D4327

Organic Content

1% maximum

AASHTO T-267

Reinforced Fill
Electrochemical Properties
pH Limits for
Geosynthetic Reinforcements
PET

> 3 and < 9

AASHTO T-289

PP & HDPE

>3

AASHTO T-289

Lesson 5 Learning Outcome

The participants will be able to:

Define the reinforced fill and retained backfill

soil parameters required for design

Identify issues/concerns with marginal fills