CONTENTS
1. Introduction 1
1.1 General 1
1.2 Basic Mechanism of Reinforced Earth2
1.3 Practical Applications 5
References 9
Practice Problems 9
2. Basic Components of Reinforced Soil 10
2.1 General 10
2.2 Soil or Fill Matrix 10
2.3 Reinforcement 13
2.3.1 Strips . 13
2.3.2 Grids 14
2.3.3 Sheet Reinforcement 17
2.4 Facing Elements 19
2.4.1 Metal Facing 19
2.4.2 Concrete Panel Facing 20
References 22
Practice Problems 22
3. Strength Characteristics of Reinforced Soil 23
3.1 General 23
3.2 Basic Concept 23
3.3 Sigma and Tau Models 29
3.4 Laboratory Studies 34
Illustrative Examples 42
References 47
Practice Problems 47
4. Soil-Reinforcement Interface Friction 49
4.1 General 49
4.2 Sliding Shear Tests 50
4.3 Pull-out Tests 56
4.4 Summary 65
Illustrative Examples 66
References 69
Practice Problems 70
5. Reinforced Soil Wall 72
5.1 General 72
5.2 Stability Analysis 73
5.2.1 External Stability 73
5.2.2 Internal Stability 83
5.3 Effect of Vertical and Horizontal Line Loads 95
5.3.1 External Stability 96
5.3.2 Internal Stability 97
5.4 Construction of a Reinforced Soil Wall 103
5.5 Drainage 104
5.6 Design Procedure 104
Illustrative Example 107
References 128
Practice Problems 128
6. Wall with Reinforced Backfill 130
6.1 General 130
6.2 Theoretical Analysis . 131
6.2.1 Assumptions 131
6.2.2 Analysis 131
6.2.3 Pressure-Intensity on the Wall . 139
6.2.4 Method of Computation 141
6.2.5 Parametric Study 141
6.2.6 Resultant Earth Pressure for Checking Stability 155
Against Sliding
6.2.7 Resultant Moment and Corresponding Earth 155
Pressure for Checking Stability Against
Overturning and Bearing Failure
6.3 Increase in Earth Pressure Due to a Line Load 156
on the Backfill
6.3.1 Point of Action of Resultant Pressure 157
6.4 Design Procedure 167
6.5 Pseudo-static Analysis for Evaluating Seismic 171
Earth Pressure
6.6 Limitations of the Analysis 172
6.7 Validation of Analysis by Tests on Model Retaining Walls 180
6.8 Field Application 182
Illustrative Example 188
References 199
Practice Problems 200
7. Foundations on Reinforced Soil Beds 201
7.1 General 201
7.2 Brief Review 203
7.3 Pressure Ratio 204
7.4 Analysis of Strip Footing on Reinforced Soil Bed 205
7.5 Analysis of Isolated Square and Rectangular 214
Footings on Reinforced Soil Bed
7.6 Analysis of Circular and Ring Footings 224
7.7 Determination of Pressure Ratio 230
7.8 Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Foqtings on 232
Reinforced Earth Slab
7.9 Validation of Analysis by Tests on Model Footings 235
Illustrative Examples 241
References 257
Practice Problems 259
8. Soil Nailing 261
8.1 General 261
8.1.1 Applications 261
8.1.2 Advantages of Soil Nailing 262
8.1.3 Limitations of the System 263