Comparison of different design concepts in slope stability analysis of geosynthetic reinforced slopes

In this paper the design method proposed by the Federal Highway Administration manual and the ones developed basically by Jewell, which are called the Chart methods, for the design of geosynthetic reinforced slopes are compared to each other. The FHWA method foresees that when a geotextile is used as a reinforcement, the effect of the flexibility of the reinforcement must be considered in the analysis. A computer program ISMEIK is developed for the design concept of FHWA method, which follows all the internal design steps. The program gives the force coefficient values for combination of various slopes and internal friction angles for extensible reinforcement, thus developing a new chart for extensible reinforcement. The newly developed chart is compared with existing methods and similarities and differences are discussed.