Seismic response of geogrid-reinforced fiber-cement soil walls using shaking table tests

Abstract

Improving the characteristics of local low-strength soils at the construction site is one of the appropriate approaches to employ the soils as a backfill of geogrid-reinforced soil (GRS) walls. In this study, the fiber-cement-treated sand–silt mixture was used as the backfill of walls. The post-earthquake performance of the walls was evaluated by applying the sinusoidal waves on 1 m high reduced-scale physical models and conducting a series of 1g shaking table tests. A comparison of the wall models constructed with treated and untreated backfill indicated the advantages of geogrid-reinforced fiber-cement-treated soil walls subjected to strong ground motion. The results revealed the better behavior of the wall models backfilled with treated soil mixtures under dynamic loading. Such improved performance was more evident in (i) deformation responses, including the lateral displacement of wall facing, deformation mode, failure surfaces, and settlement of backfill surface and (ii) acceleration response in different locations, including facing, reinforced, and retained zones of walls.