Performance Analysis of Geosynthetic Reinforced Earth Walls With Different Backfils by Finite Element Method

İngilizce (OpenAlex)

Failure of retaining walls may cause loss of lives and injuries. Failure of retaining walls also has economical effects because of damaged buildings, infrastructure and vehicles. There have been some devastating cases regarding failure of retaining wall. Therefore, interest for construction of reinforced earth wall has increased in recent years due to several advantages they provide. Reinforced earth wall is more economical than ordinary retaining walls. They are lightweight structure which affects their earthquake performance positively. However, if necessary attention has not paid during design and construction, similar events may occur. Selection of backfill material is also important. In order to build an economical reinforced earth wall, constructors tend to use available soil on site instead of clean sand which changes behavior and performance of the reinforced earth wall significantly. Performance of geosynthetic reinforced earth walls is investigated in this study to find out effects of different soil types used as backfill. Locally available sand and clay is obtained for this purpose. Sand and clay is mixed at different proportions. Amount of clay is increased by 20%. Strength parameters of each mixture are determined by direct shear test. Experimentally computed Mohr-Coulomb material model parameters are used in finite element analysis. Performance of geosynthetic reinforced earth wall is evaluated by considering horizontal deformations, settlement, maximum forces acting on geotextile and its position.