A contribution to the design of flexible wire mesh facing

The current mesh facing technology for MSE structures is validated mainly by observation of actual structures, but the structural design of the mesh remains unsolved so far. Classical approach gives deformations that are much larger than the ones observed on site. This paper presents a new methodology that leads to realistic results due to a better understanding of the actual interaction between the soil and the flexible facing. The communication includes: - the observations on actual structures - the principle of the modeling of the soil, with a behavioral law (stress vs. deformation of the backfill material) which constitutes an innovative feature in the design of such structures - the description of the algorithm which is used to calculate the stresses and deflections of the wire mesh facing units. Other applications that use a mesh facing, noticeably soil nailing, can take advantage of the method.