3D FINITE ELEMENT STUDY OF SOIL-NAILED WALL

Abstract

In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model was developed to simulate the performance of an instrumented full scale soil-nailed wall reported by the French national research project CLOUTERRE. The 3D-FE model was used to conduct a parametric study to investigate the effects of wall inclination, backslope inclination, nail inclination, facing stiffness, nail horizontal spacing, nail length, and soil properties on each of the wall global factor of safety, horizontal displacement of the wall, and the tensile forces developed in the nails. Finally, a series of design guideline charts were developed based on the results of the parametric analyses to help geotechnical engineers with the preliminary design for specific configurations of soil-nailed walls.