NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF GEOSYNTHETIC REINFORCED SOIL MASS WITH BLOCK FACING AND CLOSELY-SPACED REINFORCEMENTS
Palavras-chave:
Geosynthetic, Reinforced Soil, Vertical Spacing, Lateral Displacement, Settlements, Deformations, Bridge AbutmentResumo
Bridge abutments using geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) for direct supporting of the deck is a solution
with significant advantages over conventional systems. Among the main characteristics of this type of structure,
the small reinforcement spacing, frequently lower than 0.3 m, requires attention. This paper provides an
investigation to assess the effect of closely-spaced reinforcements on the behavior of a GRS mass using block
facing, and subjected to a uniformly distributed loading with typical value of service conditions. The Plaxis 2D
finite element software was used to conduct a parametric study to investigate the influence of vertical spacing (Sv)
and reinforcement stiffness (J). The numerical investigations were developed according to different approaches to
analyze the effect of vertical spacing. Initially, combinations of Sv and J were adopted without considering a
constant J/Sv ratio and then the J/Sv ratio was kept constant. The results indicated a significant effect of vertical
spacing for both approaches. The maximum lateral displacements of the facing and soil settlements near facing
were found to decrease. This behavior was obtained for all the values adopted for the constant J/Sv ratio.
