Evaluation of the effect of constant and non-constant Poisson’s ratio on reinforcement load of reinforced soil walls

Abstract

This study analytically and numerically investigates the impact of constant and non-constant Poisson’s ratio on the mobilized maximum load in the reinforcements, T_max, of reinforced soil walls with vertical facing under working stress conditions. This assessment is carried out considering different controlling factors including reinforcement stiffness, wall height, backfill friction angle, and compaction-induced stress. The analytical procedure and the numerical model are validated against data from an instrumented, large-scale, geosynthetic-reinforced soil wall under working stress conditions. Considering the key factors evaluated in the current study, the results show that the impact of the reinforcement stiffness is dominant over the approach used to consider Poisson’s ratio. A maximum difference of about 20% was obtained between the values of T_max calculated using constant and variable Poisson’s ratios. This implies that, from a practical standpoint, it may be appropriate to adopt a simpler approach that utilizes a constant Poisson's ratio for the determination of T_max under operational conditions.