À minha família
Dedico esta tese
AGRADECIMENTOSAo meu orientador, Prof. Dr. Marcos Massao Futai, pela orientação, dedicação e pela confiança depositada no meu trabalho. Agradeço também pelas lições profissionais e pelo positivismo transmitido durante toda a elaboração desta tese.Ao Prof. Dr. Bendito de Souza Bueno (em memória) por ser o grande incentivador e o responsável pelo início das minhas atividades acadêmicas. Meus sinceros agradecimentos por tudo o que proporcionou enquanto esteve presente.À minha família, em especial aos meus pais Roberto e Ilka, pelo intenso apoio e compreensão durante o desenvolvimento dessa importante e árdua etapa profissional.À minha esposa Thelma Kamiji pela compreensão, pelo incentivo, pelo constante apoio e pela contribuição técnica dada durante a elaboração deste trabalho.Ao Prof. Dr. Fernando Portelinha, por disponibilizar as informações referentes à obra "Bairro Novo" na cidade de Campinas, utilizada como referência neste trabalho e pela imprescindível contribuição técnica dada ao trabalho. Agradeço também pelos constantes incentivos, pela amizade e pelos momentos de descontração. (2004), which simulates the typical load transfer mechanism in reinforced soil structures. The in-soil tests were performed using the same soil used in the instrumented wall. These tests were carried out at different levels of vertical load (140, 200, 300 and 400 kPa) at the optimum water content (11.7%) and at different compaction water content of the soil (8%, 11.7% and 16%) at 140 kPa. The tests with 140 kPa of vertical load were replicated using the confined-accelerated creep test apparatus developed by França (2011). These tests allowed a theoretical and practical comparison between the two different in-soil creep testing apparatuses utilized in the testing program.Additional in-soil creep tests were conducted to evaluate the behavior of confined geosynthetics with time submitted to flooding of the top soil layer above the reinforcement. Compaction tests were also performed to check the increase of reinforcement loads due to soil compaction. Numerical modelling was carried out with the Finite Element Method (FEM) using Plaxis 2D. The numerical models allowed evaluation of the geotechnical mechanisms developed with time on geosynthetic reinforced soil wall structures. These models were also used to predict timedependent strains for longer periods (until 100 years) and for different types of reinforcements. The results of the testing program showed that the reinforcements confined in soil presented creep and stress relaxation behavior with time. The results also showed that the creep and relaxation rates were higher for larger vertical loads.It was observed that the confined stiffness of the reinforcement was virtually the same regardless the occurrence of flooding in the top soil layer. Additionally, the compaction tests showed that the larger the difference of the soil compaction water content from the optimum, the larger the loads in the reinforcement. Behavior prediction of the monitored...