Analysis of Static and Cyclic Traffic Loading of an Embankment Supported by a Geogrid Retaining Structure

Abstract

The article deals with a deformation analysis of a road embankment under different types of static and cyclic loading. A typical cross-section of a road embankment supported by geogrid retaining structures is considered. In the case of a design, the load is usually applied as a distributed static load. The analysis presented in the paper includes all the most loading methods used. Because there are only a few measurements for these types of construction in a given region, the analysis also includes a cyclic loading that aims to simulate real traffic loading. The cyclic loading considered the weights of cars and trucks and the distances between them, based on traffic intensity measurements. The study results showed how significant the differences in vertical and horizontal deformations of an embankment are when the different types and methods of static loading are used in a design. The results of the cyclic loading showed the deformations that can be expected from current real traffic.

Keywords

• traffic loading
• static loading
• cyclic loading
• road embankment
• geogrid retaining structure