Effect of wall geometry on the behaviour of reinforced soil walls

The effect of geometric parameters such as reinforcement length, number of layers of reinforcement, distribution of reinforcement and wall height on the forces developed in the reinforcement is examined. It is shown that the forces developed are largely independent of reinforcement length for reinforcement to wall height ratios equal to or greater than 0.7. For truncated reinforcement schemes with a ratio of less than 0.7, the forces in the reinforcement increase as the length of the reinforcement decreases. The number of layers of reinforcement was not found to significantly affect the total force required for equilibrium provided the reinforcement stiffness density was the same. The analysis provides theoretical support for the common practice of using truncated reinforcement with equal vertical spacing and length equal to 70% (or greater) of the wall height. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.