Abstract
In the present study, performance of geosynthetic reinforced MSE walls backfilled with locally available marginal lateritic soil at the onset of rainfall infiltration was investigated. Two different types of geosynthetics reinforcements were used. One was a conventional type of geogrids usually used in MSE walls, and the other was composite geogrids. Seepage analysis, stability analysis and strength and deformation analysis were carried out on MSE walls with rainfall simulated for a duration of 3 days. In case of geogrid reinforced soil wall (GR-W), the suction within the backfill was lost completely at the end of 2.176 days of rainfall, whereas suction was maintained even at the end of 3 days of rainfall in walls reinforced with composite geogrids (CGR-W). From the stability analysis, it was observed that the factor of safety of GR-W decreased at the onset of rainfall infiltration with time and reached less than the desirable value of less than 1.5 in 2.125 days of rainfall. The factor of safety of CGR-W was maintained at 1.88 throughout the period of rainfall. The facing deformation in GR-W was found to increase, with a maximum of 3.2 times increase at the end of three days of rainfall. Similarly, there was an increase in maximum tensile load mobilized in the reinforcements in GR-W, whereas in the case of CGR-W, the influence of rainfall was negligible. From the present study, it can be concluded that the presence of composite geogrids improves the overall performance of MSE walls backfilled with marginal lateritic backfills.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Koerner RM, Koerner GR (2011) The importance of drainage control for geosynthetic reinforced mechanically stabilized earth walls. J Geo Eng 6(1):3–13
Christopher BR, Elias V (1997) Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls and Reinforced Soil Slopes Design and Construction Guidelines (No. FHWA-SA-96-071). United States. Federal Highway Administration
Mitchell JK, Zornberg JG (1995) Reinforced soil structures with poorly draining backfills part II: case histories and applications. Geosynth Int 2(1):265–307. https://doi.org/10.1680/gein.2.0011
Raisinghani DV, Viswanadham BVS (2010) Evaluation of permeability characteristics of a geosynthetic-reinforced soil through laboratory tests. Geotext Geomembr 28(6):579–588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2010.01.001
Rahardjo H, Lim TT, Chang MF, Fredlund DG (1995) Shear-strength characteristics of a residual soil. Can Geotech J 32(1):60–77. https://doi.org/10.1139/t95-005
Kim Y, Jeong S, Kim J (2016) Coupled infiltration model of unsaturated porous media for steady rainfall. Soils Found 56(6):1071–1081. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2016.11.010
Kim Y, Lee S, Jeong S, Kim J (2013) The effect of pressure-grouted soil nails on the stability of weathered soil slopes. Comput Geotech 49:253–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2012.12.003
Rahardjo H, Li XW, Toll DG, Leong EC (2001) The effect of antecedent rainfall on slope stability. Geotech Geol Eng. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013129725263
Rahardjo H, Ong TH, Rezaur RB, Leong EC (2007) Factors controlling instability of homogeneous soil slopes under rainfall. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 133(12):1532–1543. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2007)133:12(1532)
Fredlund DG, Rahardjo H, Fredlund MD (2013) Unsaturated soil mechanics in engineering practice. Wiley, Hoboken
Fredlund DG, Rahardjo H (1993) Soil mechanics for unsaturated soils. Wiley, Hoboken
Fredlund DG, Morgenstern NR, Widger RA (1978) The shear strength of unsaturated soils. Can Geotech J 15(3):313–321. https://doi.org/10.1139/t78-029
Oh WT, Vanapalli SK (2010) Influence of rain infiltration on the stability of compacted soil slopes. Comput Geotech 37(5):649–657. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2010.04.003
Yoo C, Jung HY (2006) Case history of geosynthetic reinforced segmental retaining wall failure. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 132(12):1538–1548. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2006)132:12(1538)
Leonards GA, Frost JD, Bray JD (1994) Collapse of geogrid-reinforced retaining structure. J Perform Constr Facil ASCE 8(4):274–292. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0887-3828(1994)8:4(274)
Liu CN, Yang KH, Ho YH, Chang CM (2012) Lessons learned from three failures on a high steep geogrid-reinforced slope. Geotext Geomembr 34:131–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2012.05.003
Yang KH, Thuo JN, Chen JW, Liu CN (2019) Failure investigation of a geosynthetic-reinforced soil slope subjected to rainfall. Geosynth Int 26(1):42–65. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgein.18.00035
Wu JY, Chou NN (2013) Forensic studies of geosynthetic reinforced structure failures. J Perform Constr Facil ASCE 27(5):604–613. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0000344
Kim WS, Borden RH (2013) Numerical simulation of MSE wall behavior induced by surface-water infiltration. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 139(12):2110–2124. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000927
Koerner RM, Koerner GR (2013) A data base, statistics and recommendations regarding 171 failed geosynthetic reinforced mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls. Geotext Geomembr 40:20–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2013.06.001
Koerner RM, Soong TY (2001) Geosynthetic reinforced segmental retainingwalls. Geotext Geomembr 19(6):359–386. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0266-1144(01)00012-7
Portelinha FH, Zornberg JG (2017) Effect of infiltration on the performance of an unsaturated geotextile-reinforced soil wall. Geotext Geomembr 45(3):211–226. https://doi.org/10.1139/t78-029
Raisinghani DV, Viswanadham BVS (2011) Centrifuge model study on low permeable slope reinforced by hybrid geosynthetics. Geotext Geomembr 29(6):567–580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2011.07.003
Bhattacherjee D, Viswanadham BVS (2015) Numerical studies on the performance of hybrid-geosynthetic-reinforced soil slopes subjected to rainfall. Geosynth Int 22(6):411–427. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgein.15.00022
Iryo T, Rowe RK (2005) Hydraulic behaviour of soil–geocomposite layers in slopes. Geosynth Int 12(3):145–155. https://doi.org/10.1680/gein.2005.12.3.145
Mamaghanian J, Viswanadham BVS, Razeghi HR (2019) Centrifuge model studies on geocomposite reinforced soil walls subjected to seepage. Geosynth Int 26(4):371–387. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgein.19.00018
Vahedifard F, Tehrani FS, Galavi V, Ragno E, AghaKouchak A (2017) Resilience of MSE walls with marginal backfill under a changing climate: quantitative assessment for extreme precipitation events. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 143(9):04017056. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001743
Koerner RM, Koerner GR (2018) An extended data base and recommendations regarding 320 failed geosynthetic reinforced mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls. Geotext Geomembr 46(6):904–912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2018.07.013
Vibha S, Divya PV (2019) Deformation behaviour of reinforced soil slopes subjected to rainfall induced subsidence. ISSMGE TC 107 Symposium on Laterites and Lateritic Soils, pp 87–94
ASTM D 6913 (2009) Standard Test Method for Particle-Size Distribution (Gradation) of Soils Using Sieve Analysis
ASTM D698 (2012) Standard test methods for laboratory compaction characteristics of soil using standard effort
Aubertin M, Mbonimpa M, Bussière B, Chapuis RP (2003) A model to predict the water retention curve from basic geotechnical properties. Can Geotech J. https://doi.org/10.1139/t03-054
Van Genuchten MT (1980) A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils 1. Soil Sci Soc Am J 44(5):892–898. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1980.03615995004400050002x
Geostudio (2018) SEEP/W, SLOPE/W and SIGMA/W, User’s Guide. Geo-slope International Ltd, Calgary
Richards LA (1931) Capillary conduction of liquids through porous mediums. Physics 1(5):318–333. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1745010
Schneider S, Mallants D, Jacques D (2012) Determining hydraulic properties of concrete and mortar by inverse modelling. MRS Online Proc. https://doi.org/10.1557/opl.2012.601
Zhang LL, Fredlund DG, Zhang LM, Tang WH (2004) Numerical study of soil conditions under which matric suction can be maintained. Can Geotech J 41(4):569–582. https://doi.org/10.1139/t04-006
Reddi LN, Ming X, Hajra MG, Lee IM (2000) Permeability reduction of soil filters due to physical clogging. J Geotech Geoenviron Engi 126:236–246. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2000)126:3(236)
Bathurst RJ, Nernheim A, Walters DL, Allen TM, Burgess P, Saunders DD (2009) Influence of reinforcement stiffness and compaction on the performance of four geosynthetic-reinforced soil walls. Geosynth Int 16(1):43–59. https://doi.org/10.1680/gein.2009.16.1.43
Ehrlich M, Mitchell JK (1994) Working stress design method for reinforced soil walls. J Geotech Eng 20(4):625–645. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1994)120:4(625)
Ehrlich M, Mirmoradi SH, Saramago RP (2012) Evaluation of the effect of compaction on the behavior of geosynthetic-reinforced soil walls. Geotext Geomembr 34:108–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2012.05.005
Mirmoradi SH, Ehrlich M (2014) Modeling of the compaction-induced stresses in numerical analyses of GRS walls. Int J Comput Methods 11(02):1342002. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219876213420024
Allen TM, Bathurst RJ (2019) Geosynthetic reinforcement stiffness characterization for MSE wall design. Geosynth Int. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgein.19.00041
Esmaili D, Hatami K, Miller GA (2014) Influence of matric suction on geotextile reinforcement-marginal soil interface strength. Geotext Geomembr 42(2):139–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2014.01.005
Riccio M, Ehrlich M, Dias D (2014) Field monitoring and analyses of the response of a block-faced geogrid wall using fine-grained tropical soils. Geotext Geomembr 42(2):127–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2014.01.006
Vahedifard F, Leshchinsky BA, Mortezaei K, Lu N (2015) Active earth pressures for unsaturated retaining structures. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 141(11):04015048. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001356,04015048
Hatami K, Esmaili D (2015) Unsaturated soil–woven geotextile interface strength properties from small-scale pullout and interface tests. Geosynth Int 22(2):161–172. https://doi.org/10.1680/gein.15.00002
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vibha, S., Divya, P.V. Performance of Geosynthetic Reinforced MSE Walls with Marginal Backfills at the Onset of Rainfall Infiltration. Int. J. of Geosynth. and Ground Eng. 7, 9 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40891-020-00253-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40891-020-00253-8