Behaviour of geogrid reinforced earth retaining walls

The investigation as presented in this paper describes the stress-strain relationships of reinforced earth retaining walls using Netlon geogrids as reinforcement and ferrocement panels as facing elements. The backfill material used was river sand. Model retaining walls for different combinations of vertical spacings of reinforcement were constructed and their behaviour were observed for different surcharge loads. The stress-strain relationships and surcharge load Vs settlement curves have been presented for different reinforcement spacings. It has been concluded that significant reduction in lateral deformation of the wall as well as considerable reduction in vertical settlement of backfill material have been observed in the retaining walls. It will be safe and economical to construct retaining walls with geogrids as reinforcement in situations where there is a likelihood of excessive lateral deformations owing to surcharge loads.