Seismic behavior of tiered geogrid reinforced soil (GRS) using treated backfill soil

Abstract

As the use of geogrid reinforced soil (GRS) walls increases, appropriate solutions should be considered to improve their performance. In recent years, wall construction in the multi-tiered configuration has improved both static and post-earthquake behavior, and become an appropriate approach to building high-reinforced soil walls. In addition to the above approach, treatment of the soil used as the wall backfill is also a suitable solution to enhance the wall performance. In this study, a combination of the two above concepts has been employed for better understanding the GRS wall behavior by developing a series of reduced-scale physical models. One-meter-high models in one- and multi-tiered fashion were tested backfilled with untreated and treated (by adding a combination of cement and polypropylene fibers) silty sand mixture. A comparison of the 1g shaking table tests among wall models subjected to seismic waves indicated the influence of the treating solutions on the dynamic response of the walls. The findings suggest that use of the two proposed approaches in the GRS walls construction has a notable effect on the wall stability after construction and during an earthquake. It also improves the essential seismic parameters such as displacement and acceleration responses.