Analyzing reinforcement loads of vertical geosynthetic-reinforced soil walls considering toe restraint

Supported by available experimental and numerical findings on the behavior of geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) retaining walls under working stress conditions, an analytical method was proposed to quantify the toe restraint of vertical GRS retaining walls. The lateral earth pressure on the facing is calculated by Coulomb's theory of active earth pressure, and a polygonal distribution is used to quantify the horizontal connection loads of the reinforcement layers. The toe restraint is quantified through force and moment equilibriums of the facing column. The analytical toe restraint was then incorporated into an analytical method for reinforcement loads of vertical reinforced soil masses. The proposed approach was validated against the results from full-scale and large-scale tests. The approach can be used to compute the reinforcement loads of GRS retaining walls under working stress conditions and with active earth pressure on the facing so that the serviceability of GRS retaining walls can be better analyzed in practice.