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A Mechanistic Pullout Model for GRS Walls Under Kinematic Consideration

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Abstract

This paper presents a modified mechanistic model to study the pullout responses of geosynthetic reinforced soil walls. The analysis considers the kinematics of the failure, the stiffness and the deformation compatibility of the reinforcement. An updated discretization technique is proposed to account for the deformation compatibility of the reinforcement. A simple iteration scheme is suggested to compute the active length of the reinforcement, which is essential for the before pullout response of an extensible reinforcement. The analysis is performed using a linear-elastic subgrade based on Pasternak model and the resulting second order differential equations in nondimensionalized form are solved applying the finite difference method with the proper boundary conditions. A case study is conducted for a series of full-scale instrumented reinforced soil walls to validate the present analysis. The reinforcement load at each level was back-predicted using the present analysis, and the results are compared with the measured data, AASHTO simplified method and K-stiffness method. The back-analysis demonstrates that the present analysis can be readily integrated with the existing method of analysis (AASHTO) and gives a better prediction of the reinforcement load. A parametric study is also conducted to quantify, predominantly the effect of reinforcement stiffness on the pullout response. The pullout is found to be the prevalent mode of failure for higher reinforcement stiffness; however, for a lower stiffness, the strain may exceed the allowable limit causing a tension failure before the pullout.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Infrastructure, Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, Argul, Jatni, Khurda, Odisha, 752050, India

    Shantanu Patra

  2. Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110 016, India

    Jagadish T. Shahu

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  1. Shantanu Patra
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  2. Jagadish T. Shahu
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Correspondence to Shantanu Patra.

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Patra, S., Shahu, J.T. A Mechanistic Pullout Model for GRS Walls Under Kinematic Consideration. Indian Geotech J 48, 529–540 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40098-017-0276-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40098-017-0276-0

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