Stability of Fiber Reinforced Sand Retaining Walls

A ten meter high retaining wall made by sands reinforced with continuous fibers was constructed in 1988. Thickness of the retaining wall was 1 mat the top and 2.5 m at the bottom, and the slope was 63° at the face and 71° at the back. Earth pressure acting on the wall, displacements of the face, settlements of the fill and acceleration of the retaining wall were measured. During the construction, around the third height of the wall was displaced 15 cm in a forward direction. At the time of an earthquake, the values of the maximum horizontal acceleration at the original ground surface and at the top of the retaining wall were recorded to be 95 gal and 200 gal respectively, and no damage was found. The relation between the increment of the earth pressure during earthquake and the movements of the wall and the fill is discussed