MECHANICAL STABILIZED EARTH WALLS

Mechanical stabilized earth (MSE) walls is a method of reinforcing earthen materials so that they can
support their own weight. Walls Constructed using the MSE method rely on reinforcing elements such as
metal bars, welded wire mats, geosynthetics, or other anchorage systems to improve the mechanical
properties of the soil mass and are also used for a variety of retaining structures.

The materials used for reinforcing soil mass are as,

a. Metal strips
b. Geotextiles
c. Geosynthetics
d. Geogrids

 Geotextile is any permeable textile material used in geotechnical applications. They are
manufactured from filaments and yarns that are combined to form planar products called fabrics.
 Geosynthetics are polymeric, planar materials (polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester, polyamide,
and nylon).
 Geocomposite is a product made from a combination of geosynthetics.
 A geogrid is a polymeric product formed by joining intersecting ribs.

Type of tests to determine the physical and mechanical properties of geotextiles.

The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has a number of standard tests to determine
the physical and mechanical properties of geotextiles. For retaining walls, the key properties are tensile
strength, creep, and durability. The ASTM tests for tensile strength and creep are:

1. Grab tensile strength test (ASTM D 4632).

This test gives the ultimate tensile load (N) of the geotextile.
2. Wide-width tensile test (ASTM D 4595).
This test gives the load per unit width (N/m) of geotextile. You can also obtain the wide-width
modulus from this test.
3. Tensile creep test (ASTM D 5262).
This test gives the percentage of the ultimate tensile load at which the rate of creep strain
approaches zero with time.

Geotextiles suffer strength decline from ultraviolet light degradation.

Allowable exposure time for Geotextiles is specified to as less than 14 days.
MSE walls are generally more economical than gravity walls.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF MECHANICAL STABILIZED EARTH.

. In case if the undrained restriction is lifted, then we can expect lateral strains greater than one-half the
vertical strains. If we were to install strips of metal in the lateral directions of the soil mass, then the
friction at the interfaces of the metal strips and the soil would restrain lateral displacements.

The net effect is the imposition of a lateral resistance on the soil mass that causes Mohr’s circle to move
away from the failure line.

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 Figure:(1)

The lateral force imposed on the soil depends on the interface friction value between the reinforcing
element and the soil mass and the vertical effective stress.

In MSE walls the reinforcement serves as an internal lateral confinement that allows the soil to mobilize
more shearing resistance.

Stability of Mechanical Stabilized Earth Walls

There are two sets of stability criteria to be satisfied for MSE walls, they are:

a. The internal stability of an MSE wall and

b. The external stability of an MSE wall

The internal stability of an MSE wall

The internal stability depends on the tensile strength of the reinforcing material and the slip at the
interface of the reinforcing material and the soil. Tensile failure of the reinforcing material at any depth
leads to progressive collapse of the wall, while slip at the interface of the reinforcing material and the
soil mass leads to redistribution of stresses and progressive deformation of the wall.

The methods of analysis that are used to determine the internal stability are two, One method is based
on an analogy with anchored flexible retaining walls ( Figure 1) and another is The Rankine active earth
pressure theory which is used with the active slip plane inclined at ѳa=45°+Ø´cs/2 to the horizontal, as
shown at figure 2.

Figure 2 Examples of anchors.

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FIGURE 3 MSE wall using Rankine’s method.

While the method used for determining external stability in MSE wall

Generally used reinforcing material with high extensibility, for example.

a. Polymeric such as geotextiles and geogrids.

However the internal stability depends on the tensile strength of the reinforcing material and the slip at
the interface of the reinforcing material and the soil while the external stability depends on

When using Rankine’s method frictional resistance develops over an effective length, Le, outside the
active slip or failure zone at a depth z, on both surfaces of the reinforcing material (Figure 3) is given by:

Pr = 2wLe (s’z+qs) tan Øt

(Equation 1)

Where

W is the width of the reinforcing material,

s’z is the vertical effective stress at a depth z,
qs Is the surcharge, and
Øl is the friction angle at the soil–reinforcement interface.

The tensile force is

T=KaR (s’z+qs) SzSy Equation (2)
Where
T is the tensile force per unit length of wall
KaR interface friction

. For geotextiles or geogrids, its normally consider as one unit length of wall and one unit width, so Sy =1
and W = 1. By setting T = Pr, we can find the effective length of the reinforcement required for limit

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equilibrium (factor of safety = 1). To find the design effective length, a factor of safety (FS) t is applied on
the tensile force, T, and by solving for Le from Equations (1) and (2), we get

K aR (s ’ z+ q s ) SzSy ( FS ) t K aR SzSy ( FS ) t
¿= =
2 w (s ’ z+ q s) tan Øt 2 w tan Øt

Where (FS) t ranges from 1.3 to 1.5. The total length of reinforcement is

L=¿+ Lr Equation (3).

Where Lr is the length of reinforcement within the active failure zone.

The calculated length of reinforcement at the base is often the shortest because Lr is zero at the base of
the wall.
If L is adequate for internal stability, it’s often inadequate for translation or bearing capacity (external
stability).

The steps for checking whether the calculated length of reinforcement at the base is adequate for
translation or bearing capacity, is as follows:
1. Calculate the maximum lateral active earth force, P ax.

1
Pax = K aCy H 20 cosδ+ K aCqs H 0 cosδ = ¿ K aC H 0 cosδ (0.5 y H 0 +qs )
2

Equation (4).

We used here Coulomb’s method because the interface between the reinforced backfill soil and the
native soil (Figure 3) is frictional and KaC is the active lateral pressure coefficient using Coulomb’s method
with wall friction.
2
The friction angle to use is Ø ´where (Ø´cs) is for backfill and the wall friction is δ ≈ (Ø´cs) native soil to (Ø
3
´cs) native soil. But if the interface friction is negligible then K aR is used instated of KaC.

2. Calculate the length of reinforcement required for translation. For short-term loading in clays,
the base resistance is T = Lbsw, where Lb is the length of reinforcement at the base and Sw is the
adhesion stress. By analogy with sheet pile retaining walls, we will use Sw= 0.5su (maximum Sw =
50 kPa).
For external stability against translation, T = Pax (FS) T, where (FS) T is a factor of safety against
translation; usual range 1.5–3.0. The required length at the base against translation for short-
term loading in clays is then

P ax (FS)T
Lb = Equation (5).
Sw

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 n
For long-term loading, T =∑ wt tan ∅ ' b, where Wt is the weight of soil layer i, n is the number of
i=0
layers, and ∅ ' b is the effective interfacial friction angle between the reinforcement and the soil
at the base.
In case of a uniform soil unit weight throughout the height of the wall, then T is given by

T =γ H 0 Lb tan ∅ ' b Equation (6)

The length of reinforcement at the base required to prevent translation under long-term loading
is

P ax ( FS)T (KaC ) x H 0 cosδ (0.5 y H 0+ qs) ( KaC )x (0.5 H ¿¿ 0+qs /γ )( FS)T

Lb = = = ¿
γ H 0 Lb tan ∅ ' b γ H 0 Lb tan ∅ ' b tan ∅ ' b
Equation ( 7)

Where (KaC)x is the horizontal component of Coulomb’s active lateral earth pressure coefficient.
In this case we use the larger value of L b obtained from Equations (5) and (7).

There are so many ways of analyzing reinforced soil wall which depends on the material being
used for example

The procedure for analysis of a reinforced soil wall using polymeric materials that is as follows:

1. Calculate the allowable tensile strength per unit width of the reinforcing polymeric material.
1
T all =T ult Equation (8)
(FS) ID ×(FS)CR ×(FS)CD ×(FS)BD
Where Tall is the allowable tensile strength, T ult is the ultimate tensile strength, FS is a factor of safety,
and the subscripts have the following meaning:
 ID—installation damage
 CR—creep
 CD—chemical degradation
 BD—biological degradation
Typical values of the various factors of safety are shown in Table 1.

2. Calculate the vertical spacing at different wall heights.

T all
S z=
K ac ( σ ' ¿ ¿ z +q s)( FS)sp ¿

Table 1 typical ranging of

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 Where (FS)sp is a factor of safety between 1.3 and 1.5. It is customary to calculate the minimum
vertical spacing using σ ' z = y ' H o H o /3 2 Ho 3 and then check the vertical spacing required at Ho/3 and
2Ho/3. For practical reasons, the vertical spacing either is kept at a constant value or varies by not more
than three different values along the height.

3. Determine the length of reinforcement required at the base for external stability from Equations (5)
and (7).
4. Determine the total length of reinforcement at different levels.
L=Le + LR Equation (9).

Where

° ∅ ' cs
LR =( H o −Z ) tan ⁡(45 − ) Equation (10).
2
4. Determine the external stability (translation and bearing capacity). Remember that translation is
already satisfied from item 3 above. Overturning is not crucial in MSE walls because these walls
are flexible and cannot develop moment. However, you can verify that overturning is satisfied if
e< Lb/6, where e is the eccentricity of the vertical forces.

The other method is the coherent gravity method (Juran and Schlosser, 1978) and is applicable
to low extensible reinforcing materials such as metal strips. Failure is assumed to occur
progressively along a path defined by the maximum tensile strains at each level of the
reinforcing material. The failure surface is a logarithm spiral that is approximated to a bilinear
surface to simplify calculations Figure (4).
The lateral active pressure coefficient is assumed to vary linearly from K o at the top of the wall to
KaR at a depth of 6 m and below Figure (4). The variation of lateral stress coefficient with depth
Figure (4) is

Z
k =k aR + K 0 ¿ ) for Z≤ 6 equation (11).
6
K=k aR for z >6 m

The length of reinforcement within the failure zone (Figure 15.31a) is

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 z
(
LR =0.2 H o + 0.1 H o −
6)for z ≤0.6 H 0 Equation (12).

1 z
LR = H o 1−
2 (Ho )
for z> 0.6 H 0 Equation (13).

Coherent gravity method:-

Figure :( 4)

Analysis in MSE wall using low extensible materials.

1. Select the spacing of the reinforcement in the Z and Y directions and the width of the reinforcement.
Use a manufacturer’s catalog to provide information on standard sizes.

2. Calculate the required maximum thickness of the reinforcement.

K aR ( γ ' H + qs ) S z S y
o

t r= Equation (14).
wf y

Where KaR is the Rankine active earth pressure coefficient, fy is the yield stress of the reinforcement, w
is the width of the reinforcement, and (FS) tr is a factor of safety, usually,

The design thickness is the calculated thickness plus a corrosion thickness expected for the design life of
the wall.

3. Determine the length of reinforcement required at the base from Equations (5) and (7).

4. Determine the total length of reinforcement at each level.

L=¿+ LR Equation (15).

Where LR is given by Equations (12) and (13) and Le is determined from Equation (3) by using the
appropriate value of the active lateral earth pressure coefficient from Equations (14) and (15).

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5. Determine the external stability by assuming the wall is a gravity wall.

Geotextile MSE Wall Design example:- Design a 4-m mechanical stabilized earth wall using a geotextile
as the reinforcement. The backfill would be a compacted, coarse-grained soil with Ø´ = 30° and ysat = 18
kN/m3. The surcharge is 15 kPa. The geotextile selected has an ultimate wide-width tensile strength of
58.5 kN/m and the soil–geotextile interface friction value is 208. The native soil is a clay with parameters
ysat = 18.5 kN/m3, Ø´ SC = 32°, Ø´b=20°, and Su = 60 kPa.

Solution:-

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EXAMPLE 2

Metal Ties MSE Wall

Design a mechanical stabilized wall 6 m high using metal ties. The backfi ll is a coarse-grained soil with
Ysat= 16.5 kN/m3 and Ø´ SC =32°. Galvanized steel ties are available with a yield strength fy = 2.5 × 105 kPa
and a rate of corrosion of 0.025 mm/year. A factor of safety of 3 is desired for a design life of 50 years.
The soil–tie interface friction value is 218. The foundation soil is coarse-grained with parameters Ysat = 18
kN/m3, Ø´ p = 35°, and Ø´ b =20°. The surcharge is 15 kPa.

Solution:-

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