Behaviour of a full-scale test wall reinforced with hexagonal wire mesh

A fully instrumented test embankment reinforced with hexagonal wire was constructed on a soft Bangkok clay foundation in Thailand. The reinforced wall consisted of an 80° inclined gabion facing on one side and a sloping unreinforced sand fill on the opposite side, with a total height of 6·0 m. A maximum settlement of 0·35 m was observed 200 days after construction. The predicted settlements obtained by using a one-dimensional method, a three-dimensional method, the Asaoka method and the water content method were 0·55 m, 0·47 m, 0·38 m and 0·54 m, respectively. The settlement predicted by the Asaoka method agreed with the measured value. The degree of consolidation of the foundation subsoil was 78% and a maximum lateral movement of 0·15 m occurred in the foundation soil at 3 to 4 m depth 210 days after construction. The maximum displacement of 0·125 m measured from a high-strength wire extensometer at the top of embankment agreed well with the maximum lateral movement measured by an inclinometer. There is ...