Experimental Investigation of Embankment Wedge Failure’s Stability under the Effect of the Number and Spacing of Geotextile Layers in the Reinforced Retaining Wall

Abstract

The design of retaining walls depends on the amount of driving pressure from the backfill of the wall. Therefore, estimating this pressure is an essential factor in its design. In this research, the changes in the slope of failure, the place of the failure wedge, and the reduction of the failure line along the length and depth of the embankment were investigated on the retaining wall embankment reinforced with geotextile during ten tests in a laboratory study. The parameters under investigation in this article are the number of layers and the distances between the geotextile layers. The results showed that the presence of geotextile layers reduced the length of the fracture line up to 41%. It has also improved the value of the fracture angle and reduced the formation of the rupture wedge in the lower depths up to a maximum of 16%. The translational movement of the wall in the actuation state has a greater distinction between the fixed point and the failure zone, and the reinforcing layers are also effective in increasing the bearing capacity and stability of the retaining wall.

Keywords

• fine-grained soil
• retaining wall
• geosynthetics
• lateral pressure
• failure wedge