Numerical analysis of shored mechanically stabilized earth walls

This study investigates the deformation and stability of shored mechanically stabilized earth (SMSE) walls using numerical analysis. A finite element (FE) model is developed in Plaxis, and parametric sensitivity analysis is conducted to identify the most influential input parameters on the maximum lateral facing displacements of the mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) and soil nail (SN) walls and global factor of safety (FS) of the SMSE wall. Predictive equations are developed for these responses using multiple linear regression. The suitability and adequacy of the developed predictive equations are assessed by evaluating the summary of fit statistics. It is observed that the governing failure mechanism of the SMSE wall is a bilinear failure plane. Its inclination angle is 10° less than that of the Rankine failure surface. The external stability of the SMSE wall is more critical compared to the conventional MSE wall. It is concluded that special attention should be given to the interfaces and connections due to the vulnerability to reinforcement-facing connection failure.