Abstract
The geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) bridge abutment with a staged-construction full height rigid (FHR) facing and an integral bridge (IB) system was developed in Japan in the 2000s. This technology offers several advantages, especially concerning the deformation behavior of the GRS-IB abutment. In this study, the effects of GRS in the bridge abutment with FHR facing and the effects of geosynthetics reinforcement length on the deformation behavior of the GRS–IB are presented. The numerical models are analyzed using the finite element method (FEM) in Plaxis 2D program. The results showed that the GRS–IB model exhibited the least lateral displacements at the wall facing compared to those of the IB model without geosynthetics reinforcement. The geosynthetics reinforcement in the bridge abutment with FHR facing has reduced the vertical displacement increments by 4.7 times and 1.3 times (maximum) after the applied general traffic loads and railway loads, respectively. In addition, the numerical results showed that the increase in the length-to-height (L/H) ratio of reinforcement from 0.3H to 1.1H decreases the maximum lateral displacements by 29% and the maximum vertical displacements by 3% at the wall facing by the end of construction. The effect of the reinforcement length on the wall vertical displacements is minimal compared to the effect on the wall lateral displacements.
Highlights
One of the remarkable developments in geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) technology is the geosynthetic-reinforced soil integrated bridge system (GRS–integral bridge system (IBS))
The results showed that the increase in the length-to-height ratio of reinforcements from 0.3H to 1.1H decreases the vertical displacements by 3% Appl
The lateral displacement behavior at wall facing was influenced by the bridge abutment construction method, the use of geosynthetics reinforcement, and the reinforcement length
Summary
One of the remarkable developments in geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) technology is the geosynthetic-reinforced soil integrated bridge system (GRS–IBS). The GRS–IBS was initially developed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in the United States and has several variations One of those variations was developed in Japan using a GRS retaining wall (RW) as bridge abutment with a staged-construction full height rigid (FHR) facing and an integral bridge system (IBS). The GRS integral bridge (GRS–IB) technology alleviates the technical difficulties of conventional bridges by solving problems related to RC structures by eliminating the bearings and joints. It has solved several problems involving backfill using geosynthetics reinforcement. In 1971, the first geotextile-reinforced soil was constructed in France for improving embankment stability. Geosynthetics reinforcement is a growing field, and its continued development remains a high priority for many private and government institutions worldwide
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