Pseudo Static Seismic Stability Analysis of Reinforced Soil Structures

The paper pertains to the pseudo-static seismic stability analysis of reinforced soil structures. Using limit equilibrium method and assuming the failure surface to be logarithmic spiral, analysis has been conducted to maintain internal stability against both tensile and pullout failure of the reinforcements. The external stability of the reinforced earth wall is also assessed in terms of its sliding, overturning, eccentricity and bearing modes of failure. The influence of the intensity of the surcharge load placed on the backfill is also considered in the analysis. The obtained results are validated by comparing the same with those reported in literature. Studies have also been made regarding the influence of backfill soil friction angle, horizontal and vertical seismic accelerations, surcharge load, the tensile strength of reinforcement, pullout length of the reinforcement and number of reinforcement layers on the seismic stability against various failure modes as mentioned earlier.