Pullout Behavior of Nail Reinforcement in Nailed Soil Slope

Abstract

The pullout resistance and displacement performance of reinforcement have significant effects on the safe and economic design of a reinforced-soil system. In this study, the nail pullout tests are conducted to assess the pullout behavior of soil nail reinforcement at different levels in the soil slope of granular materials. The similitude laboratory models of a reinforced soil system with a scale of 1:10 are prepared. The construction sequence used in a full scale slope was precisely followed in the laboratory model. The models consist of a Perspex wall box filled with sand and steel bars as a reinforcement. The models of sand beds are formed using an automatic sand raining system. Devices and instruments are installed to record the nails pullout resistance and displacement. The tests are carried out at variable footing pressures to get the pullout force of the nails based on a strain control technique. The finite element models of nailed soil slope are also analyzed to validate the laboratory model results. It infers from the numerical model results that the laboratory models underestimate the pullout behavior of nail reinforcement in nailed soil slope. The pull-out force in nail reinforcement increases as the displacement increases and then decreases slightly and becomes constant with an increase in displacement in the case of deeper placed nails, but it becomes constant immediately for upper nails.

Performance of Soil Nailing for Slope Stabilization-A Review

“…Finite element modelling was conduced using PLAXIS-2D and concluded that as the displacement of the nail increased, the pull-out force was increased. The lower nail in the soil slope exerts a higher pull-out force than the middle and upper nail [41].…”

A Numerical Study of a Soil-Nail-Supported Excavation Pit Subjected to a Vertically Loaded Strip Footing at the Crest

“…After conducting a series of laboratory experiments on a scale of 1:10 to examine the effect of footing pressure, soil type, soil slope angle, foundation width, and position on the nail force, slope lateral displacement, and foundation settlement [4,5], Mohamed et al [6] concluded that an FE analysis has the potential to replicate the behavior of the field-nailed soil slope during the construction and working stages.…”