Evaluating Performance of Hybrid Geosynthetic-Reinforced Retaining Walls
type: CreativeWork
description: Geosynthetic-Reinforced Retaining (GRR) walls have been extensively used in highway projects. A novel GRR wall was proposed to mitigate the problems (e.g. high connection stress) resulting from the relatively large spacing of primary reinforcement. This new GRR wall has secondary reinforcement installed between primary reinforcement layers. This new GRR wall has a similarity in the structure of the GMSE wall and the GRS wall in terms of the vertical reinforcement spacing (i.e., it has the same vertical primary reinforcement spacing as the GMSE wall and the same vertical secondary reinforcement spacing as the GRS wall). In this study, it is named as a hybrid GRR wall. Since the hybrid GRR wall is an innovative retaining structure, few studies have been carried out on it and then its performance has not been well understood. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the performance of the hybrid GRR wall. Three GRR wall sections were constructed and monitored in the field: (1) a hybrid GRR wall section with uniaxial geogrid layers as primary and secondary reinforcement, (2) a hybrid GRR wall section with uniaxial geogrid layers as primary reinforcement and with biaxial geogrid layers as secondary reinforcement, and (3) a GRR wall section with uniaxial geogrid layers as primary reinforcement only (i.e., the control section). Earth pressure cells, inclinometer casings and probes, and foil-type strain gauges were used in these three test wall sections to measure vertical and lateral earth pressures, accumulated lateral wall facing deflections, and strains of primary and secondary geogrid layers during construction, respectively. The results from monitoring of these three GRR wall sections were analyzed. The test results demonstrated the effects of secondary reinforcement on the improved performance of GRR walls, including reduced accumulated wall facing deflections, a more uniform lateral earth pressure distribution, and reduced tensile strains in primary geogrid layers. In…
abstract: Geosynthetic-Reinforced Retaining (GRR) walls have been extensively used in highway projects. A novel GRR wall was proposed to mitigate the problems (e.g. high connection stress) resulting from the relatively large spacing of primary reinforcement. This new GRR wall has secondary reinforcement installed between primary reinforcement layers. This new GRR wall has a similarity in the structure of the GMSE wall and the GRS wall in terms of the vertical reinforcement spacing (i.e., it has the same vertical primary reinforcement spacing as the GMSE wall and the same vertical secondary reinforcement spacing as the GRS wall). In this study, it is named as a hybrid GRR wall. Since the hybrid GRR wall is an innovative retaining structure, few studies have been carried out on it and then its performance has not been well understood. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the performance of the hybrid GRR wall. Three GRR wall sections were constructed and monitored in the field: (1) a hybrid GRR wall section with uniaxial geogrid layers as primary and secondary reinforcement, (2) a hybrid GRR wall section with uniaxial geogrid layers as primary reinforcement and with biaxial geogrid layers as secondary reinforcement, and (3) a GRR wall section with uniaxial geogrid layers as primary reinforcement only (i.e., the control section). Earth pressure cells, inclinometer casings and probes, and foil-type strain gauges were used in these three test wall sections to measure vertical and lateral earth pressures, accumulated lateral wall facing deflections, and strains of primary and secondary geogrid layers during construction, respectively. The results from monitoring of these three GRR wall sections were analyzed. The test results demonstrated the effects of secondary reinforcement on the improved performance of GRR walls, including reduced accumulated wall facing deflections, a more uniform lateral earth pressure distribution, and reduced tensile strains in primary geogrid layers. In…
author: Jiang, Yan
language: en
keywords: Civil engineering, Geotechnology, Field test, Geosynthetic reinforced retaining wall, Geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) wall, Mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall, Numerical modelling, Secondary reinforcement
date published: 2016-05-31
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:47:15Z
provider: University of Kansas
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Kansas

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/1808/21982