• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.193-204
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• 2009

A 10.4-m high highway embankment retained behind mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls is under construction in the northeastern part of the Indian state of Bihar. The structure is constructed with compacted, micaceous, grey, silty sand, reinforced with polyester (PET) geogrids, and faced with reinforced cement concrete fascia panels. The connections between the fascia panels and the geogrids failed on several occasions during the monsoon seasons of 2007 and 2008 following episodes of heavy rainfall, when the embankment was still under construction. However, during these incidents the MSE embankment itself remained by and large stable and the collateral damages were minimal. The observational data during these incidents presented an opportunity to develop and calibrate a simple procedure for estimating rainfall induced pore water pressure development within MSE embankments constructed with backfill materials that do not allow unimpeded seepage. A simple analytical finite element model was developed for the purpose. The modeling results were found to agree with the observational and meteorological records from the site. These results also indicated that the threshold rainwater infiltration flux needed for the development of pore water pressure within an MSE embankment is a monotonically increasing function of the hydraulic conductivity of backfill. Specifically for the MSE embankment upon which this study is based, the analytical results indicated that the instabilities could have been avoided by having in place a chimney drain immediately behind the fascia panels.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.937-945
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• 2018

A probabilistic study of a reinforced earth wall in a frictional soil using the surface response methodology (RSM) is presented. A deterministic model based on numerical simulations is used (Abdelouhab et al. 2011, 2012b) and the serviceability limit state (SLS) is considered in the analysis. The model computes the maximum horizontal displacement of the wall. The response surface methodology is utilized for the assessment of the Hasofer-Lind reliability index and is optimized by the use of a genetic algorithm. The soil friction angle and the unit weight are considered as random variables while studying the SLS. The assumption of non-normal distribution for the random variables has an important effect on the reliability index for the practical range of values of the wall horizontal displacement.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.23-36
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• 2019

In this paper, field measurement of the Block Type Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) wall curved section was performed, and the reinforced area of the curved part is studied through the result. MSE method has been applied to various fields because of easy construction and excellent economic efficiency, so that it can be easily access in our life. However due to lack of compaction and stress concentration phenomenon, cracks and collapse occur in the curve of MSE wall, which is important for safety. The cause of collapse is lack of research on curved section, lack of design criteria, lack of construction due to economical efficiency and shortening of construction period, insufficient compaction space. In this study, therefore, it was examined the existing design and construction standards, analyzed the cause through accident examples of the curved section of the Block Type MSE wall. As a result, the horizontal displacement of the curved section was 90% higher than that of the straight section and 60% higher than that of the concave section. In the case of the convex section in the curved section reinforcement region, the maximum displacement is shown in the H/2 section in the horizontal direction from the center of the MSE wall, and the range of influence from H is shown. In the case of the concave section, the maximum displacement is shown in the center, The minimum displacement was confirmed in H/4 section in the horizontal direction from the center of the MSE wall. As a basic study on the reinforcement area rehabilitation through the actual construction of block type MSE wall, the behaviors of the straight part and the curved part were compared and analyzed. And analyzed the reinforced area in order to reduce the damage of the stress concentration phenomenon and secure the safety.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.594-601
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• 2019

A true MSEW abutment is an abutment type that directly supports the load of a superstructure. Metal strips, which are in-extensile reinforcements, should be used to minimize abutment deformation. A study to derive the application conditions of a True MSEW abutment was carried out by Zevogolis(2007). As a result, the pullout factor of safety of the uppermost reinforcement was estimated to be the smallest. Therefore, the pullout factor of safety of the uppermost reinforcement is the most important design factor. Parameter analysis was conducted with the abutment length, abutment heel, and abutment height as variables. The pullout factor of safety increased with increasing abutment length and abutment heel length. This is because the contact area increases and the superstructure is dispersed as the abutment length and abutment heel length increase. The pullout factor of safety converges at an abutment length of 1.2m and an abutment heel length of 0.9m. This is because the effective length of the reinforcement is reduced due to the increase in contact area. On the other hand, the extension of the superstructure will increase if the abutment length and abutment heel length are increased excessively. In addition, earth-volume is increased if the abutment height increases excessively. This acts as an upper load on the MSE wall. Therefore, it needs to be examined carefully.

• International Journal of Railway
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2016

An approach section on an abutment is located between the soil embankment and the structure, which may cause an uneven surface due to different settlement between the abutment and the soil embankment. This study proposes a new type of wall which separates the abutment from the backfill material using mechanically stabilized wall. A new type of keystone which incorporates geotube and wire mesh is proposed and evaluated. Numerical analyses were performed to investigate the applicability of the proposed keystone type, which incorporates Geosynthetic. The maximum horizontal displacements along GRS wall faces, settlements at the top of pavement and track bed, and tensile forces applied on geotextiles under traffic loads were investigated. The results of the numerical analysis showed that the proposed wall can be used for highway and high-speed railway abutment.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.83-92
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• 2017

This paper deals with numerical analysis of behavior of curved mechanically stabilized earth(MSE) walls with geosynthetics reinforcement. Unlike typical concrete retaining walls, MSE wall enables securing stability of higher walls without being constrained by backfill height and is currently and widely used to create spaces for industrial and residential complexes. The design of MSE walls is carried out by checking external stability, similarly to the external checks of conventional retaining wall. In addition, internal stability check is mandatory. Typical stability check based on numerical analysis is done assuming 2-dimensional condition (plane strain condition). However, according to the former studies of 3-dimensional MSE wall, the most weakest part of a curved geosynthetic MSE wall is reported as the convex location, which is also identified from the studies of the laboratory model tests and field monitoring. In order to understand the behaviour of the convex location of the MSE wall, 2-dimensional analysis clearly reveals its limitation. Furthermore, laboratory model tests and field monitoring also have restriction in recognizing their behaviour and failure mechanism. In this study, 3-dimensional numerical analysis was performed to figure out the behaviour of the curved part of the geosynthetic reinforced wall, and the results of the straight-line and curved part in the numerical analysis were compared and analysed. In addition, the behaviour characteristics at each condition were compared by considering the overburden load and relative density of backfill.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.39-45
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• 2006

A field instrumentation for a recycled waste concrete geobag wall was performed to investigate the performance of the geobag wall, and uniaxial compression tests for a recycled waste concrete geobag were executed in laboratory. The strength of a recycled waste concrete geobag, the lateral earth pressure of a geobag wall, the horizontal deflection of a geobag wall, and the deformation of a backfill in geobag wall are mainly evaluated in this study. Based on the results of analysis on the measurements, it was found that the geobag wall displacement was within the recommendation for mechanically stabilized earth walls. It was also found that the use of a recycled waste concrete in geobag wall provides economical benefit, construction easiness, and good performance.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.599-614
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• 2022

One of the methods of stabilizing retaining walls, embankments, and deep excavations is the implementation of plate anchors (like the Geolock wall anchor systems). Back-to-back Mechanically Stabilized Earth (BBMSE) walls are common stabilized earth structures that can be used for bridge ramps. But so far, the analysis of the interactive behavior of two back-to-back anchored walls (BBAW) by double-plates anchors (constructed closely from each other and subjected to the limited-breadth vertical loading) including interference of their failure and sliding surfaces has not been the subject of comprehensive studies. Indeed, in this compound system, the interaction of sliding wedges of these two back-to-back walls considering the shear failure wedge of the foundation, significantly impresses on the foundation bearing capacity, adjacent walls displacements and deformations, and their stability. In this study, the effect of horizontal distance between two walls (W), breadth of loading plate (B), and position of vertical loading was investigated experimentally. In addition, the comparison of using single and equivalent double-plate anchors was evaluated. The loading plate bearing capacity and displacements, and deformations of BBAW were measured and the results are presented. To evaluate the shape, form, and how the critical failure surfaces of the soil behind the walls and beneath the foundation intersect with one another, the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique was applied. The experimental tests results showed that in this composite system (two adjacent-loaded BBAW) the effective distance of walls is about W = 2.5*H (H: height of walls) and the foundation effective breadth is about B = H, concerning foundation bearing capacity, walls horizontal displacements and their deformations. For more amounts of W and B, the foundation and walls can be designed and analyzed individually. Besides, in this compound system, the foundation bearing capacity is an exponential function of the System Geometry Variable (SGV) whereas walls displacements are a quadratic function of it. Finally, as an important achievement, doubling the plates of anchors can facilitate using concrete walls, which have limitations in tolerating curvature.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.113-120
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• 2010

Reduction factor for installation damage required to calculate design strength of geogrid used in MSEW(mechanically stabilized earth wall) design is usually obtained in the field test simulating real construction condition. However, damages occurred in geogrid during backfill work are influenced by many factors such as polymer types, unit weight per area, backfill construction method and gradation of backfill material and field test considering these factors demand lots of time and costs. In this study, factors affecting installation damage are analyzed and empirical method to evaluate reduction factor for installation damage using maximum particle size in backfill material is suggested.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.757-774
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• 2016

Soils are usually weak in tension therefore different materials such as geosynthetics are used to address this inadequacy. Worldwide annual consumption of geosynthetics is close to $1000million\;m^2$, and the value of these materials is probably close to US$1500 million. Since the total cost of the construction is at least four or five times the cost of the geosynthetic itself, the impact of these materials on civil engineering construction is very large indeed. Nevertheless, there are several significant problems associated with geosynthetics, such as creep, low modulus of elasticity, and susceptibility to aggressive environment. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) was introduced over two decades ago in the field of structural engineering that can also be used in geotechnical engineering. CFRP has all the benefits associated with geosynthetics and it boasts higher strength, higher modulus, no significant creep and reliability in aggressive environments. In this paper, the performance of a CFRP reinforced retaining wall is investigated using the finite element method. Since the characterization of behavior of soils and interfaces are vital for reliable prediction from the numerical model, soil and interface properties are obtained from comprehensive laboratory tests. Based on the laboratory results for CFRP, backfill soil, and interface data, the finite element model is used to study the behavior of a CFRP reinforced wall. The finite element model was verified based on the results of filed measurements for a reference wall. Then the reference wall simulated by CFRP reinforcements and the results. The results of this investigations showed that the safety factor of CFRP reinforced wall is more and its deformations is less than those for a retaining wall reinforced with ordinary geosynthetics while their construction costs are in similar range.