Internal stability analysis and deformation prediction for fabric reinforced earth structure

In the present paper internal design method relating to the use of fabric reinforcements in reinforced earth structures for both stress and strain considerations are presented. The soil-reinforcement interaction is modeled by relating nonlinear elastic soil behavior to nonlinear response of the fabric reinforcement. For purposes of assessing the strain behavior of the fabric reinforcements, nonlinear elastic model of hyperbolic form describing the load-extension relation of fabrics is employed. An attempt to define the improvement in bond-linkage at the interconnecting nodes of the fabric reinforced earth structure due to the confining stress is further made. Good predictive capability of the proposed method of analysis is demonstrated by comparisons with data for test walls for which measured values of reinforcement tensions and deformations are available. Results of analytical parametric study are also included.