ABSTRACT
To investigate the geogrid reinforcement mechanisms in the reinforced soil retaining walls, discrete element modeling has been carried out based on the model tests under strip footing loads. The mechanical and deformation behavior of the reinforced soil retaining wall was analyzed at a mesoscopic scale during construction and under strip footing loads. With increasing heights of the retaining wall during the construction period, the strains of geogrids increased. Before applying the footing loads, the contact forces in the retaining wall showed a realistic distribution under gravity and the geogrid strains of lower layers were slightly larger than those of the upper layers. With increasing loads of the strip footing, the vertical settlement of the footing increased gradually. The horizontal deformation of the upper part of the wall facing was larger than the lower part. With increasing footing loads, the strains of geogrids increased, but the increment of geogrid strains was relatively small under the loading conditions in this study. The discrete element modeling results in this study visualize the load transfer between geogrid and soil and quantify the deformation behavior of geogrids in the reinforced soil retaining wall during construction and under strip footing loads.
