ABSTRACT

Although it is well known that reinforced earth walls have strong earthquake stability, the mechanisms by which they show strong earthquake performance is not clear. When determining the reinforcement length, the earth pressure acting on the wall and the tensile force of reinforcement in the resistance zone are assumed to be at equilibrium with each other to simplify the internal stability calculation. In the external stability calculation, the whole reinforced earth wall is considered as one rigid body. We have focused on these calculations, and aimed to clarify the mechanical role of reinforcement laid in the active failure zone through dynamic centrifuge model tests. From the experimental results, it has been confirmed that the reinforcement laid in the active failure zone contributes to the stability of the reinforced earth wall, and that the deformation of the reinforced earth wall is smaller than that of a rigid body during strong shaking.