PRINCIPLES OF ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF REINFORCED EARTH RETAINING WALLS

The paper describes a method of design of retaining walls wherein the material forming the retaining wall is earth containing horizontal reinforcement. The reinforcing members develop their tension through the behaviour described by mohr-coulomb equation. It is shown that the sum of these tensions and their centre of action opposes the pressure from the retained earth maintaining equilibrium. It appears that the type of construction is cheaper and can be constructed more quickly than conventional gravity retaining walls. The simple explanation adopted for the behaviour of the structure differs from that proposed by M. Henri Vidal for the reinforced earth method, and the rules developed will give a different disposition of reinforcing material. /TRRL/