Retaining Wall with Reinforced Cohesionless Backfill

Abstract

The case of a rigid wall retaining a reinforced cohesionless fill that carries a uniform surcharge load has been analyzed based on the limit equilibrium approach. The reinforcement may be in the form of strips or mats that are not connected to the wall. This analysis considers the stability of an element of the failure wedge, which is assumed to develop in the reinforced earth mass adjoining the back face of the wall. Nondimensional design charts have been developed for computing the resulting lateral earth pressure on the wall and the height of its point of application above the base of the wall. The theoretical findings have been verified in two different sets of model tests on a rigid wall that is retaining a dry sand fill and that is reinforced by aluminium and bamboo strips. Experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. An applied example for an 8‐m high wall illustrates the design procedure.