Behaviour of extensible reinforcement resting on non-linear Pasternak subgrade subjected to oblique pull

Abstract

A generalised model is presented for evaluation of pullout capacity of an extensible reinforcement subjected to oblique pullout force. The reinforcement is assumed as a rough membrane resting on a non-linear Pasternak subgrade. The shear stress mobilised along the soil–reinforcement interface is assumed to be a non-linear hyperbolic function of the interface displacement. The analysis considers the non-linear response of subgrade in shear as well as in vertical compression. The solution is obtained by applying vertical and horizontal force equilibrium to the final deformed shape of the reinforcement. A parametric study shows that pullout is the predominant failure mechanism for high values of reinforcement stiffness J*, whereas for low values of J* the maximum reinforcement strain may exceed the allowable limit, causing tension failure before pullout. A back-analysis of published and model tests data shows that, in most cases, the present analysis predicts the experimental data reasonably well.