Numerical Study on the Deformation and Failure of Reinforced Sand Retaining Walls Subjected to the Vertical Load

Abstract

To gain a better insight into the deformation and failure of reinforced sand retaining walls subjected to the vertical load from the crest and their associated reinforcing mechanisms, the model experimental results from well-controlled fully-instrumented load tests of full-scale reinforced sand retaining wall with sand backfill are simulated by making use of a nonlinear elasto-plastic finite element model considering strain localization. In the finite element method (FEM) analysis, the effects of the following factors for the filled sandy soil are taken into account: (a) the non-linear pre-peak work-hardening and post-peak work-softening; (b) effects of stress history and stress path; (c) the confining pressure dependency and strength anisotropy; (d) the stress-dilatancy characteristics; and (e) strain localization into a shear band(s) with a width proportional to the particle size. The load-settlement relationship obtained from FEM analysis is generally in good agreement with the physical experimental result. It is also found that the progressive failure with a development of shear bands and the horizontal earth pressure on the back of facing and the tensile force in the reinforcement layers can be reasonably simulated by the proposed FEM analysis.