Case History of Geosynthetic Reinforced Segmental Retaining Wall Failure
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VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 12
Abstract
A geosynthetic reinforced segmental retaining wall was collapsed during a monsoon season in Korea, three months after the completion of wall construction. The circular type global slope failure was the dominant failure mode. The as-built design was examined for its appropriateness in meeting the current design requirements and the global slope stability. A comprehensive stress-pore pressure-coupled finite-element analysis was additionally conducted with due consideration of both positive and negative pore pressures in saturated and unsaturated zones. A number of relevant tests were also carried out on the backfill and the reinforcement collected from the site. The investigation revealed among other things that the inappropriate design and the low-quality backfill were mainly responsible for the wall failure, although the primary triggering factor was the rainfall infiltration. The results of the stress-pore pressure-coupled finite-element analysis provided sound evidences as to the wall performance over the rainfall period, supporting the field observation. Practical implications of the findings from this study are also discussed in view of reinforced wall design.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by Grant No. R01-2004-000-10953-0 from the Basic Research Program of the Korea Science & Engineering Foundation. The financial support is gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks to former students Mr. Hyuck-Sang Chung, Sung-Woo Lee, and Bong-Won Lee for conducting the field investigation.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 12 • December 2006
Pages: 1538 - 1548
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Jan 31, 2005
Accepted: May 26, 2006
Published online: Dec 1, 2006
Published in print: Dec 2006
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