Mechanically stabilized earth walls

FIGURE 11.20 Mechanically stabilized earth wall. (After Cornforth, D., Landslides in Practice, Investigation, Analysis, and Remedial/Preventative Options in Soils, Wiley, 2005.)... 

The active area of mechanically stabilized earth walls and slopes uses geotextile separators in two critical locations covering a base drain beneath the reinforced soil zone and around individual lifts of backfill soil. See Fig. 11.10 for these locations. 

Figure 11.10 Location of geotextiles in mechanically stabilized earth walls. Compliments of TenCate, Inc.

Geotextile-reinforced mechanically stabilized earth walls... 

Figure 22.4 Multiple tiered, reinforced, mechanically stabilized earth wall (masonry block facing) behind apartment units.

Figure 22.5 Retaining wall costs in the United States showing that geosynthetic mechanically stabilized earth walls are the least expensive, particularly for private (versus public) owners. Adapted from Koemer, J.R., Soong, T.-Y., Koemer, R.M., 1998. Earth Retaining Wall Costs in the USA. GRI Report 20. GSI, Folsom, PA, 37 pp.

FIGURE 10.11 Mechanical stabilized earth (MSE) wall design example. 

Conventional gravity and cantilever wall systems made from masonry and concrete resist lateral earth pressure by virtue of their large mass. They act as rigid units and have served the industry well for centuries. These mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls, which have geotextile reinforcement (Fig. 15.20), are flexible compared with conventional gravity structures. 

Design of Mechanically Stabilized Walls (MSWs), Fig. 3 Active wedge geometry and interpretation of total active earth force Par due to wedge self-weight W and peak ground acceleration coefficients kj, and ky... 

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