A Kinematic Limit Approach for the Stability Analysis of Nailed Soil Slopes

An analytical method is presented based on the kinematic theorem of limit analysis appliedto the stability of reinforced slopes under the seismic loading condition. The rate of external work is due to soil weight and inertia force induced by the earthquake and the only contribution to energy dissipation is that provided by the reinforcement. In the present analysis a rotational failure mechanism is considered. The proposed method considered a log-spiral failure surface. In order to verify the proposed method of analysis; two published case studies Clouterre Test Wall No. 1 and the 4.5 m high wall known as Eparris Wall, built to retain a little cut in plastic clay are utilized. The probable failure surface and the factor of safety obtained by the proposed method are found to be in good agreement with the published test results. Finite element numerical modeling by FLAC is done for these test walls. Numerical analysis is found to be good agreement with the published results and also with field observations.