Design of reinforced soil structures using a two-part wedge mechanism based on AS 4678-2002

摘要

The design of reinforced soil structures is divided into two stages: external stability to give the size ofrnthe reinforced soil block and internal stability to establish the required layout of reinforcement. Thernexternal stability calculation is essentially the same as used to design a gravity retaining wall. Thisrnpaper outlines a method of internal stability analysis based on a two-part wedge mechanism. Thernmethod has the benefit of being based on basic mechanics, with very few assumptions being requiredrnto find a solution. In particular, no assumptions are made concerning the critical failure mechanism,rnand instead a large number of possible two-part wedge mechanisms are searched, including sliding inrnbetween layers of reinforcement and sliding over layers of reinforcement. This approach permitsrnimportant design situations to be modelled in a fundamentally correct way, including connectionrnstrength between the facing and the reinforcement, and earthquake loading. The method has beenrnformulated using the recommendations given in AS 4678-2002.