Analysis of Single and Back-to-Back Reinforced Retaining Walls with Full-Length Panel Facia

Abstract

Back-to-back mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls have several applications in infrastructure development. Present study firstly discusses on the kinematics of deformation of MSE wall with full-length panel facia. Secondly, single and back-to-back MSE walls with full-length panel facing are modelled using finite difference based software (Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua). The reinforcements in the back-to-back walls extend through and through from one wall facing to the other wall facing. Lateral pressures, vertical stresses, and lateral deformations at the facing for various reinforcement stiffness values are evaluated for both single and back-to-back walls under working stresses. Reinforcement stiffness values of 500 kN/m, 5000 kN/m and 50,000 kN/m are considered. For single MSE wall with stiff reinforcement, lateral pressures at the facing are higher than those for active earth pressure. Lateral deformations of facing with reinforcement of low stiffness are higher than those with reinforcement of high stiffness. In back-to-back walls, the lateral deformation of wall facing with reinforcement of high stiffness is slightly inwards near the top of the wall. Reinforcement stiffness is found to have significant effect on the vertical stress in both single and back-to-back walls. Lateral pressures of both single and back-to-back connected walls are compared. Lateral pressures on single MSE wall are found to be lesser than those for back-to-back wall at the top of the wall. However, lateral pressures near the bottom of single wall are higher than those of back-to-back wall.