2D and 3D numerical study of geosynthetic mechanically stabilized earth GMSE walls

• Published in: The Evolution of Geotech - 25 Years of Innovation pp. 323 - 329
• Main Authors: Ardila Montilla, E.A., Esquivel, E.R., Martins Portelinha, F.H., Javankhoshdel, S.
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: CRC Press 2022
• Edition: 1
• Subjects: Surcharge Load; Soil Walls; Finite Difference Method; Face Displacements; Linear Elastic Constitutive Model; Wall Displacements; Reinforced Soil; Backfill Materials; Reinforcement Strains; Constitutive Model; Limit Equilibrium Approach; Royal Military College; Safety Factors; Linear Elastic Plastic; Vertical Pressure; Reinforced Soil Structures; LEM; Fem Approach; Joint Friction Angle; Constitutive Soil Models; Face Blocks; Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Walls; Reinforced Soil Walls; Maximum Wall Displacement
• ISBN: 9781032036458; 1032036451; 9781032036465; 103203646X
• DOI: 10.1201/9781003188339-41

Numerical modeling in geotechnical engineering has generally proved feasible when analyzing the behavior and performance of reinforced soil structures, due to their low cost, versatility, and practicality with respect to physical models. One of the most significant challenges in this process is the choice of appropriate models and parameters that are accurate in describing reality. This study presents numerical modeling analyzes of a Geosynthetic Mechanically Stabilized (GMSE) wall built, instrumented and monitored in laboratory by Hatami & Bathurst (2005). The numerical modeling was carried out in 2D and 3D using the finite element method (FEM). The behavior of the soil was represented by the Linear Elastic Perfectly Plastic (Mohr Coulomb) and Elastic Hyperbolic (Duncan Chang) constitutive models. The geosynthetics and facing elements behaviors were represented by the Linear Elastic constitutive model. In these analyzes, the construction stages and the subsequent wall loads were taken into account. The objective of this study was to validate the model parameters in such way the assessed face displacements, foundation stresses, reinforcement strains were close to those corresponding the instrumented wall. This validation was performed through the comparison of model results with measured values. With the found It was obtained a good agreement between numerical modeling and physical test results in soil structures reinforced with geosynthetics. This chapter describes the finite element method analyses of a geosynthetic mechanically stabilized (GMSE) wall, during its construction process and after the application of a surcharge load, The analyzes were conducted using the software RS2 and RS3. The analyzes results showed that numerical simulations accurately predicted the behavior of the wall. It was shown that the potential failure surfaces assumed in analysis methods using the limit equilibrium approach to assess the safety factors of GMSE structures are correct that both cohesive and granular soils performances are as adequate as backfill materials for the modelled cases. Although several numerical studies have been done, demonstrating the good performance of reinforced soil walls, there are studies in literature comparing 2D and 3D analysis of these structures, nor there are any models using the software RS2 and RS3. In the numerical modeling, two constitutive soil models were used to simulate the construction, surcharge loading response of a constructed, instrumented, and monitored reinforced soil wall.