Failure Analysis of Modular-Block Reinforced-Soil Walls during Earthquakes
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 19, Issue 2
Abstract
Several modular-block reinforced-soil retaining walls failed during the 1999 Ji-Ji (Chi-chi) earthquake of Taiwan. Similar walls showed distress during the 1994 Northridge, Calif., earthquake. The instability or failure of these walls offered an opportunity to validate the simplistic pseudostatic limit-equilibrium procedures. In this study, the Ta Kung Wall of the Ji-Ji earthquake is analyzed, and the Gould and Valencia Walls of the Northridge earthquake are revisited with an improved estimation of local site acceleration. The local acceleration was estimated by using simple attenuation relationships obtained through the earthquake records. The results of analysis indicate that these three walls had adequate internal stability under estimated site acceleration. The geosynthetic length was inadequate to resist compound modes of failure where the potential failure surface extends beyond the reinforced zone. The external stability was most critical in the presence of horizontal and vertical accelerations.
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Acknowledgments
The material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation (Grant No. NSFCMS-0084449) with Dr. Richard J. Fragaszy as the program director. The first writer is also supported by the NSF Career Award (NSFCMS-0092739), with Dr. Clifford J. Astill as the program director. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. The source of seismic records for the Ji-Ji and Northridge earthquakes were obtained from the Seismology Center, Central Weather Bureau (CWB) of Taiwan, and the CSMIP, respectively.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 19 • Issue 2 • May 2005
Pages: 117 - 123
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 24, 2003
Accepted: Sep 15, 2003
Published online: May 1, 2005
Published in print: May 2005
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