Simplified Analysis of Long-Span Soil-Metal Structures

Abstract

To analyze and design long-span soil-metal structures and other structures involving soil or reinforced soil, it is important to estimate accurately the soil properties. Triaxial tests are carried out on reinforced as well as unreinforced Lake Erie sand specimens. A hyperbolic stress-strain relation is proposed to represent the soil elastic properties. Expressions are deduced to evaluate the modulus of elasticity of the soil as well as the coefficient of soil reaction that is required for the proper design of soil-metal structures. The proposed expressions are valid for both reinforced and unreinforced soils. A simplified finite-element model is presented for the analysis of long-span unreinforced and reinforced soil-metal structures. Results from the simplified model are compared to those from a plane-strain finite-element analysis. The results are also verified using results obtained from tests carried out on reduced-scale models.