Load and Resistance Factors for External Stability Checks of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 3
Abstract
The use of load and resistance factor design (LRFD) to design geotechnical components of transportation infrastructure in the United States is now mandated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The advantages of LRFD over working stress design (WSD) may lead to its gradual adoption in geotechnical design even in the absence of any mandates. If load and resistance factors are based on reliability analysis, a mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall may be designed to a target reliability index (or a target probability of failure). Load and resistance factor design of MSE walls must consider multiple ultimate limit states, associated with both external and internal stabilities. This paper develops factors for use for the two ultimate limit states, sliding and overturning, used in design that are related to the external stability of MSE walls. Equations that closely reproduce the ultimate limit states with as little uncertainty as possible are proposed. The uncertainties of the parameters and the transformations for ultimate limit state equations are assessed using data from an extensive literature review. The first-order reliability method (FORM) is then used to produce resistance factor values for each limit state for different levels of target reliability index.
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Acknowledgments
The research presented in this paper was conducted as a part of Joint Transportation Research Program at Purdue University. The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Indiana Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 3 • March 2012
Pages: 241 - 251
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 24, 2009
Accepted: Jul 7, 2011
Published online: Jul 9, 2011
Published in print: Mar 1, 2012
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