MSE WALLS WITH INDEPENDENT FULL-HEIGHT FACING PANELS

摘要

MSE walls with independent full-height facing panels (MSE/IFF walls)combine self-stable reinforced fill, full-height facing panels not attached to fillreinforcements, facing anchors that accommodate panel movement during construction,and a trench with flow fill and bracing for the temporary support of facing panels duringconstruction. Colorado DOT built an MSE/IFF wall in 1996 along I-25 with two tiers ofreinforcement lengths (8 ft long in the lower zone and 20 ft long in the upper zone). Thiswall system offers rapid and reduced construction work, an appearance similar tomonolithic walls, and slender and lightweight facing panels since they carry only limitedlateral pressure from fill. Since this MSE wall system is the first of its kind, it wasconsidered experimental and a comprehensive instrumentation and monitoring programwas performed. The objective of this research is to establish a workable and predefinedMSE/IFF wall system and to refine design and construction methods used for the I-25MSE/IFF walls. This paper reports the features, design, materials, construction,instrumentation, and measured performance of the I-25 MSE/IFF wall. Wallperformance and design are assessed in terms of measured movements of facing panelsand measured loads in fill reinforcements and facing anchors. The wall systemperformed as intended in the design. During construction, the wall facing was allowed tomove outward sufficiently to mobilize tensile strains in the reinforcements and keeplateral earth pressure on facing panels low. After eight years, the I-25 wall shows nosigns of distress or alignment problems.