Experimental and Numerical Study on the Seismic Performance of MSE/Soil Nail Hybrid Walls

In this study, a series of 1-g shaking table tests using variable-amplitude harmonic excitations were performed on 0.8 m high MSE/Soil nail hybrid wall models to investigate the seismic behavior of this innovative retaining system. Ten finite element models were also prepared with different wall height and nail length to carry out a parametric study. It was found that in models with constant length of steel strip, the deformation mode of MSE/Soil nail hybrid walls highly depends on the length of nails, so that the combination of a base sliding and overturning deformation mode was observed as the predominant mode of deformation. Irrespective of different nail lengths, the pattern of the observed failure mechanisms included a moving block and a combination of a reverse curve and flat failure surface with certain intersection point. Also, a range of ∆x/H = 0.62 - 1.10 % as a transitional level from quasi-elastic to plastic state and based on starting the development of active wedge failure, a range of ∆x/H = 5.0% - 5.6 % as a transitional level from plastic to failure state were determined. On the other hand, according to the significant increase in wall displacements by decreasing the L/H ratio of 0.7, L/H= 0.7 was presented as the critical ratio in seismic conditions.