GEOSYNTHETIC REINFORCED SLOPES : LIMIT EQUILIBRIUM AND FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSES

ABSTRACT This note presents a comparative study of geosynthetic reinforced slope analyses. The comparison is between predictions of a finite element (FE) method and a limit equilibrium (LE) method. The comparisons are limited to the potential failure surface and the maximum tensile force developed in the geosynthetic reinforcement layers. These two items signify the design output in the LE analysis of geosynthetic reinforced slopes. The agreement between EE and LE methods is found to be reasonably good in terms of both location of critical slip surfaces and required strength of reinforcement.