Evaluation of Wall Inclination Effect on the Dynamic Response of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls Using Shaking Table Tests

Abstract

Shaking table tests were conducted in this study to determine the effect of facing wall inclinations, and the density of the backfill. Reduced-scale models reinforced with two layers of geogrid and fine sand as backfill were studied to identify the dynamic behaviour of mechanically stabilised earth walls. Five different angles of inclination of the facing walls were considered to study its effect on the responses. All seven models were excited by stepped amplitude sinusoidal base accelerations with incrementally increasing peak ground acceleration amplitudes and constant frequencies. The model wall's responses are compared in terms of the acceleration amplification and lateral displacements of the wall measured at different elevations. These tests revealed that horizontal displacement of the wall was maximum at the middle position of the wall. Minimum displacement was observed in the 20° inclined wall towards the backfill soil, which was 35% lower than the vertical wall. The accelerations were amplified along with the wall height. The wall having 10° inward inclination with dense backfill showed the maximum amplification (for high PGA). In the last part, an analytical study was conducted to calculate the acceleration amplifications and compared them with the experimental results. Higher values were observed in the case of the analytical approach as compared to the experimental study.