ABSTRACT
Pullout interaction between the geogrid reinforcement and the fill material is one of the key factors in the design of Mechanically Stabilised Earth (MSE) walls. It is even more intriguing to understand the pullout interaction behavior when the fill material is a non-conventional fill material such as pond ash. The pullout resistance of the geogrid is typically defined in terms of the pullout resistance factors (F*) and obtained from laboratory testing. Though it is uncommon to conduct field pullout testing on geogrids, it is ideal to study the pullout resistance of the geogrids in the field conditions. This case study presents field pullout testing conducted using a polyester uniaxial geogrid embedded at a depth of 0.8m (i.e., corresponding to a normal stress of ~12 kPa) in pond ash as fill material at a MSE wall construction site near Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India. The field pullout resistance was found to be closer to laboratory test result under the normal stress of ~17 kPa at a normalized pullout displacement of 4%.
