Abstract
Large scale experiments on the behavior and the failure mechanism of embankment reinforced with spun-bonded non-woven fabrics were carried out under heavy rain condition. Test results show that the amount of drainage water from fabrics is not so large as expected, but the seepage water gather near fabrics and it cause erosion of the surface soil near fabrics. And the fabrics restrained the deformation or the plastic strains of the reinforced earth effectively, in spite of low stiffness of them. These observations led to the conclusion that the fabrics certainly modified the failure mechanism or the stresses and strains pattern and therefore an appropriate design method based on the real mechanism of the reinforced earth structures must be established.
