Bending Behavior of GFRP Corrugated Core Sandwich Walls and Wall-Soil Interactions Based on the Continuum-Discrete Coupling Method

Abstract

In this paper, a new corrugated core sandwich wall (CCSW) made of pultruded glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites was proposed to address the threat of flood damage to levees overtopping. The critical hydraulic pressure for the instability of the CCSW under stepped hydraulic loading was determined with a continuum-discrete coupling method, and the dynamic wall–soil action of the CCSW at a protection height and penetration depth ratio of 1:1 was analyzed. Finally, under the critical hydrostatic pressure of instability, the influence of the dimensions of the CCSW on its deflection were analyzed, and a cost-effective section was determined using economic rationality analysis. During the overturning process of the CCSW, the bending moment of the wall increased, the soil force chain changed from vertical to lateral, and the main force of the downstream soil on the wall moved downward, which explained the downward movement of the maximum bending moment of the wall from a mesoscopic viewpoint. The deflection of the CCSW increased with decreasing skin thickness, core layer thickness and core height, and an increase in skin thickness could reduce the deflection of the CCSW more effectively than that in the core layer thickness.