Shaking Table Tests and Analyses of Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil Retaining Walls

Shaking table tests were performed on six geosynthetic-reinforced soil retaining wall (GRS-RWs) models. The geogrid reinforcement length, wall height, wall facing type, wall slope, and input acceleration waveform were varied in order to observe the behavior and the reinforcement mechanisms that occur in GRS-RWs. The test results were compared with the results of a pseudo-static seismic stability analysis that is adopted in the current design method in Japan. The analysis showed that this design method provides a margin of safety against the failure of reinforced soil walls. Permanent displacement computations based on the cumulative damage concept and the simplified sliding block method were performed for the tested model walls. The results showed that the sliding block method has the potential to estimate the permanent displacement of GRS-RWs.