Behavior of Reinforced Sand Subjected To Shear along Vertical Plane

For proper design of any reinforced structure, soil-reinforcement interaction should be determined. The pullout resistance of the reinforcement is an important parameter in the design of reinforced earth structures. The existing design procedures consider the pullout resistance due to only axial pull. However, the kinematics of failure clearly establishes that the reinforcement is displaced obliquely. This work presents the results of reinforced soil bed when sheared normal to the reinforcement. Tests materials included sand and several soil reinforcements like strips, geogrids, etc. The shear stress-displacement responses at various normal stresses are presented and test results show that the shear resistance of reinforced sand under normal shear is significantly higher than that of unreinforced sand. Plots are provided showing the comparison of the shear stress-displacement response of reinforced and unreinforced beds under the test conditions proposed in the study