Vertical Facing Panel-Joint Gap Analysis for Steel-Reinforced Soil Walls
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 16, Issue 4
Abstract
This paper reports the results of a numerical parametric study focused on the prediction of vertical load distribution and vertical gap compression between precast concrete facing panel units in steel-reinforced soil walls ranging in height from 6 to 24 m. The vertical compression was accommodated by polymeric bearing pads placed at the horizontal joints between panels during construction. This paper demonstrates how gap compression and magnitude of vertical load transmitted between horizontal joints are influenced by joint location along the height of the wall, joint compressibility, and backfill and foundation soil stiffness. The summary plots in this study can be used to estimate the number and type (stiffness) of the bearing pads to ensure a target minimum gap thickness at the end of construction, to demonstrate the relative influence of wall height and different material component properties on vertical load levels and gap compression, or as a benchmark to test numerical models used for project-specific design. The paper also demonstrates that although the load factor (ratio of vertical load at a horizontal joint to weight of panels above the joint) and joint compression are relatively insensitive to foundation stiffness, the total settlement at the top of the wall facing is very sensitive to foundation stiffness. This paper examines the quantitative consequences of using a simple linear compressive stress–strain model for the bearing pads versus a multilinear model that is better able to capture the response of bearing pads taken to greater compression. The study demonstrates that qualitative trends in vertical load factor are preserved when a more advanced stress-dependent stiffness soil hardening model is used for the backfill soil as compared with the simpler linear elastic Mohr–Coulomb model. Although there were differences in vertical loads and gap compression with the use of both soil models for the backfill, the differences were small and not of practical concern.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the support of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech and the funding received through the research projects BIA2010-20789-C04-01 from the Ministry of Education and Innovation and CTM2013-47067-C2-1-R from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain.
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 16 • Issue 4 • August 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 21, 2015
Accepted: Nov 3, 2015
Published online: Jan 11, 2016
Discussion open until: Jun 11, 2016
Published in print: Aug 1, 2016
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