Reinforced soil

Introduction:
 Reinforcement in different forms is added to soil in order to improve its
mechanical properties.
 Soils are strong in compression but weak in tension.

 This weak property of soil is improved by introducing reinforcing elements in

the direction of tensile stress.

 Reinforcing materials generally consist of galvanized or stainless steel strips,

bars, grids or fabrics of specified materials such as polymer, plastic and also
natural materials like jute, coir etc.

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 Reinforced soil

Definition:
Reinforced earth is a composite construction material in which the
strength of the engineering fill is enhanced by the addition of strong
extensible tensile reinforcement.

As per Mitchell ( 1981 ):

Reinforced earth is a composite material that is made internally stable by

interaction between soil and reinforcement

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 Reinforced soil

 The first use the fabrics in reinforcing roads was attempted by the south
Carolina Highway Department in 1926. A heavy cotton fabric was placed on a
primed earth base, hot asphalt was applied to the fabric, and a thin layer of
sand was put on the asphalt. The department published the results of this
work in 1935, describing eight separate field experiments. Untill the fabric
detoriated, the result showed that the roads were in good conditions and the
fabric reduced creaking and localized road failures.

 Vidal ( 1966, 1969 ): Vidal was the pioneer to develop the reinforcing technique
to a stage where it could be economically applied to large soil structures.

 Binqet and Lee ( 1975 ): Binquet and Lee was the first efficiently studied the
shallow foundation on reinforced soil.

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 Reinforced soil

THE WORK OF HENRI VIDAL

In his early work Vidal (1966, 1969a, 1969b) accurately identified and
explained a fundamental mechanism of Reinforced Earth.
It was pointed out that unreinforced soil obeys the Mohr-Coulomb failure
criterion which for a cohesionless soil may be simply defined by two linear
failure envelopes inclined at +φ and - φ to the normal stress axis (Fig. 1,
where is the internal angle of shearing resistance of the soil).

If such a soil is loaded by a vertical principal stress σ1' then for the soil not
to fail there must also be a lateral confining stress σ3' acting on the soil.

The minimum value of o3' consistent with stability is Kaσ1‘, where Kaσ1' is
the coefficient of active earth pressure.

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 Reinforced soil

Fig.1. Failure in unreinforced soil

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 Reinforced soil

THE WORK OF HENRI VIDAL

This limiting condition is represented by the Mohr stress circle shown in

solid line in Fig. 1.

If the externally applied confining pressure σ3' is reduced to zero then

under the action of σ1' the stress circle, shown with a broken line in Fig.
I, would fall outside the Mohr-Coulomb envelope, thus indicating
failure in the soil.

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 Reinforced soil

Vidal next considered the effects of introducing a strip of horizontal

reinforcement of width b to an unconfined mass of soil (Fig. 2).

If a steadily increasing normal stress, σ1’ is then applied there would be

lateral movement induced in the soil which would generate a frictional
force between the soil and the reinforcement.

Considering an element of reinforcement of embedded length δl having a

coefficient of soil/reinforcement friction f the change in tensile force
generated under the action of the normal stress is:

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 Then, the change in tensile force
generated,
δT = T2 − T1 = 2.(σ1 f ).b.δl
Where, T1 and T2 are the generated
tensile forces at the two ends of the
element.

For there is no failure by slippage

between the soil and the reinforcement,
then .
δT
< f
2σ 1bδl

Fig.2. The effects of reinforcement

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 Reinforced soil

Reference to Fig. 2 readily reveals that the quantity δT is simply the

difference between the tensile forces T1 and T2 generated at the two
ends of the element. A more general expression was later derived by
Behnia (1972, 1973).

As the action of loading the element of reinforced soil induces a tensile

force in the reinforcement so there is a corresponding compressive
lateral stress generated in the soil.

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 Reinforced soil

 This induced confining stress ∆σ3' is analogous to an externally applied

confining pressure ∆σ’and provided that there is no failure in the soil
(Fig. 1).
 This concept may be more readily understood by reference to Fig. 3. The
left-hand stress circle represents an unreinforced soil under the action of a
confining stress ∆σ3' .
 Failure occurs under a major principal stress ∆σ1' . If the same soil were
reinforced then during the process of loading the confining pressure
increases to and failure occurs at a much higher stress level of ∆σr'
 Failure ultimately occurs by bond, that is slippage between the soil and
reinforcement, or by tensile failure of the reinforcement.
 In later work Vidal (1972) digressed from his original notion and firmly
subscribed to the 'anisotropic cohesion concept.

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 For there is no failure

∆σ 3′ </ k a σ 1′

Fig. 3 Improvement in Strength

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