Numerical evaluation of the influence of compaction and soil strength parameters on GRSW

This paper presents a numerical evaluation, using PLAXIS 2D finite element software, of the effects of varying the distance of the heavy compaction from the face in a geosynthetic reinforced soil wall (GRSW). The main effects studied were the tensions in the reinforcements and the horizontal deformations of the face, including the influence of the type of shear strength envelope (total stresses or effective stresses) of the soil. In this study, a young gneiss residual soil (silty sand) was studied to obtain the grain size distribution, index properties and parameters of strength and deformability. This soil was considered for backfill in hypothetical sections of GRSW. The numerical results contributed to a better understanding of the GRSW behaviour, with evaluations closer to real field conditions. In the analyses carried out, when increasing the heavy compaction distance from the face, there are tendencies pointing to the reduction of the tensions in the reinforcements, displacement toward the interior of the soil mass of the points at which the maximum reinforcement tension occurs and reduction of the horizontal deformations of the face.