Behavior of Reinforced Retaining Walls with Different Reinforcement Spacing during Vehicle Collisions

Abstract

Accidents involving vehicles crashing into reinforced retaining walls are increasing because of the increased construction of reinforced retaining walls on roads. Unlike a normal retaining wall, a reinforced retaining wall is not one united body but is made up of blocks. Hence, a reinforced wall can break down when a vehicle crashes into it. The behavior of such a wall during vehicle collision depends upon the reinforcement material used for its construction, its design, and the method of the construction. In this study, the behavior of a reinforced retaining wall was analyzed while changing the reinforcement spacing using LS-DYNA, a general finite-element program. Eight tons of truck weight was used for the numerical analysis model. The behavior of a reinforced retaining wall under variable reinforcement spacing and positioning was analyzed. The results indicated that the reinforcement material was an important resistance factor against external collision load.

Mechanical Behavior of the Reinforced Retaining Wall Subjected to Static Load

“…In the design of the reinforced earth retaining wall by the centrifuge model test performed by Ling, Yang, and Li [12][13][14], the effect of geotechnical effect should be fully considered to ensure the structural safety. Finally, Ahn et al [15] used dyna-ls reinforcement program to analyze the mechanical performance of reinforced earth retaining wall under different reinforcement spacing and location. e reinforced retaining wall structure is not only subjected to the earth pressure on the wall, the tension of the reinforcement belt, and the friction between the filler and the reinforcement belt but also affected by the side pressure exerted by the filling behind the end of the reinforcement belt and the possible load exerted on the outside of the free wall [16][17][18].…”