Reinforcement Load and Compression of Reinforced Soil Mass under Surcharge Loading

Abstract

Reinforced soil composites and mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls are frequently employed to carry large surcharge or footing loads. For the safety and serviceability of these reinforced soil structures, it is necessary to analyze the reinforcement load and compression of reinforced soil mass subjected to surcharge loading. In the research reported in this paper, an analytical method proposed by the writer was extended to meet these needs. The extended analytical method explicitly considers soil nonlinearity, soil dilatancy, soil-reinforcement interaction, and end restrictions of reinforced soil mass. Both plane-strain and triaxial stress states can be considered in the method. The applicability of the method for reinforcement load was validated against eight large-scale tests of reinforced soil mass or MSE walls, and the method for reinforced soil compression was validated against two large-scale tests. The compressions of four reinforced soil minipiers under surcharge loading were also predicted. The proposed method has the capacity to unify the analyses of reinforcement load and compression of a reinforced soil mass under low to medium surcharge loading. Some issues in the application of the proposed method are also discussed.