Displacement-Dependent Earth Pressures on Rigid Retaining Walls with Compressible Geofoam Inclusions: Physical Modeling and Analytical Solutions
This article has been corrected.
VIEW CORRECTIONPublication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 17, Issue 6
Abstract
A rigid nonyielding retaining structure needs to be dimensioned to have adequate stiffness, such that it can resist mobilized lateral earth pressures. This corresponds to the at-rest condition, as there are, in general, negligible lateral deformations in the backfill. Measures that can mobilize higher soil shear strength and reduce lateral thrust are therefore sought to provide a more efficient design. The present study investigates the possibility of inserting compressible geofoam panels against rigid walls using physical model testing. Controlled yielding is allowed in the backfill with the occurrence of deformations in the geofoam. The mobilized earth pressures vary from the maximum at rest, to the intermediate, and finally to the minimum full active state depending on the magnitude of displacement. The effects of geofoam thickness and stiffness on lateral earth pressure reduction are explored. The measured pressure and displacement distributions form a comprehensive reference for use in calibrating design methods. Two analytical solutions are presented and compared with experimental data to evaluate their ability to calculate displacement-dependent lateral earth pressures.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars (Grant 51322807) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 51578164), and by the Ministry of Education of China through the Changjiang Scholars Program to Dr. Guoxiong Mei. The authors also appreciate the reviewers’ excellent comments and suggestions, which helped improve the quality of this paper.
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 17 • Issue 6 • June 2017
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 11, 2016
Accepted: Sep 14, 2016
Published online: Nov 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Apr 1, 2017
Published in print: Jun 1, 2017
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