Numerical response of Mechanically Stabilised Earth (MSE) walls under dynamic loads: A pseudo-rigid behaviour

抄録

During recent decades, MSE walls have become an established solution for soil retention as they are cost-effective, simple, and fast to build with more than satisfactory resiliency during past earthquake events. In this study, a series of finite element (FE) dynamic analyses of OpenSees with the Manzari-Dafalias constitutive model and pseudo-static analyses of Plaxis 2D using the Hardening Soil model have been utilised to study the behaviour of MSE walls under seismic loads. With the assumption of soil medium laying and surrounded by outcrop, three seismic time-history records on outcrops (V_s > 700 m/s) have been selected for nonlinear time-history FE analyses of OpenSees. The height of MSE walls in this study is considered to be 8m with reinforcement lengths of 4 and 6m. To compare the findings of dynamic analyses of OpenSees, the pseudo-static method of Plaxis 2D with a different constitutive modelis employed. Both methodologies converge to a compelling observation: the reinforced soil within MSE walls displays a distinct pseudo-rigid response when subjected to seismic loading. This revelation carries the potential to inspire the engineering community, advocating for a simplified approach to MSE wall modeling in their analytical pursuits.