ANALYSIS OF STRESSES IN REINFORCED SOIL STRUCTURES

This paper presents an analytical method for estimating stresses in planar tensile reinforcements due to shearing of the surrounding soil mass. The formulation adapts techniques of shear-lag analysis and assumes that the soil and reinforcement behave as linear, isotropic and elastic materials, linked through a frictional interface. Theoretical results predicted from the model are compared with experimental results obtained from a prototype reinforced soil wall, which employs sandy soil reinforced with geogrid layers. The results show that the analytical model can predict with accuracy the load distribution along the geogrid layers. The results show that the analytical model can predict with accuracy the load distribution along the geogrid layers for the reinforced wall under working load conditions