CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
CE 5003 Principles and Techniques of Ground Improvement
(Spring 2024)
Lec 10 – Mechanical Stabilized Earth Wall (MSEW)
Muhammad Umar, Ph.D.
Department of Civil Engineering
National University of Computer & Emerging Sciens
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link])
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Mechanically Stabilized Earth Wall (MSE wall or MSEW) is a
generic term that includes reinforced soil (a term used when
multiple layers of inclusions act as reinforcement in soils
placed as fill).
Reinforced Soil Slopes (RSS) are a form of reinforced soil that
incorporate planar reinforcing elements in constructed earth-
sloped structures with face inclinations of less than
70 degrees
Geosynthetics is a generic term that encompasses flexible
polymeric materials used in geotechnical engineering such as
geotextiles, geomembranes, geonets, and geogrids.
Facing is a component of the reinforced soil system used to
prevent the soil from raveling out between the rows of
reinforcement
Generic cross section of an MSE structure.
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 2
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
MSE walls to support temporary bridge abutment and
roadway embankment.
MSE wall used to temporarily support a
permanent roadway embankment for
phased construction
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 3
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 4
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Reinforced Soil Slopes
To increase the stability of the slope, particularly if a steeper than safe unreinforced slope is desirable or
after a failure has occurred.
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 5
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Advantages of Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) Walls
MSE walls have many advantages compared with conventional reinforced concrete and concrete gravity retaining walls.
MSE walls:
Use simple and rapid construction procedures and do not require as large of construction equipment.
Do not require special skills for construction.
Require less site preparation than other alternatives.
Need less space in front of the structure for construction operations.
Reduce right-of-way acquisition.
Do not need rigid, unyielding foundation support because MSE structures are tolerant to deformations.
Are cost effective.
Are technically feasible to heights in excess of 100 ft (30 m). less expensive than reinforced concrete retaining walls for
heights greater than about 10 ft (3 m) and average foundation conditions.
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 6
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Advantages of Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) Walls
The actual cost of a specific MSEW structure will depend on the cost of each of its principal components.
For segmental precast concrete faced structures, typical relative costs are:
• Erection of panels and contractors' profit - 20 to 30 percent of total cost.
• Reinforcing materials - 15 to 30 percent of total cost.
• Facing system - 20 to 40 percent of total cost.
• Reinforced wall fill including placement - 30 to 60 percent of total cost, where the fill is an select granular fill from
an off-site borrow source.
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 7
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 8
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
MSE/RSS systems can be described by the reinforcement geometry, stress transfer mechanism,
reinforcement material, extensibility of the reinforcement material, and the type of facing and
connections
Reinforcement Material Distinction can be made between the characteristics of metallic and nonmetallic
reinforcements:
Metallic reinforcements. Typically of mild steel. The steel is usually galvanized.
Nonmetallic reinforcements. Generally polymeric materials consisting of polyester or polyethylene
Reinforcement Extensibility There are two classes of extensibility relative to the soil’s extensibility:
Inextensible. The deformation of the reinforcement at failure is much less than the deformability of the soil.
Steel strip and bar mat reinforcements are inextensible.
Extensible. The deformation of the reinforcement at failure is comparable to or even greater than the
deformability of the soil. Geogrid, geotextile, and woven steel wire mesh reinforcements are extensible
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 9
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Facing Systems
The types of facing elements used in the different MSE systems control their aesthetics because they are the only
visible parts of the completed structure
Segmental precast concrete panels.
Dry cast modular block wall (MBW) units.
Welded Wire Mesh (WWM).
Gabion Facing
Geosynthetic Facing
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CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Reinforced Fill Materials
MSEW Structures MSE walls require high quality wall fill for durability, good drainage, constructability, and good soil
reinforcement interaction which can be obtained from well graded, granular materials.
Many MSE systems depend on friction between the reinforcing elements and the soil. In such cases, a material with high
friction characteristics is specified and required.
Some systems rely on passive pressure on reinforcing elements, and, in those cases, the quality of reinforced wall fill is still
critical. These performance requirements generally eliminate soils with high clay contents.
From a reinforcement capacity point of view, lower quality wall fills could be used for MSEW structures; however, a high
quality granular wall fill has the advantages of better drainage, providing better durability for metallic reinforcement, and
requiring less reinforcement
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 11
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCE
Preparation of subgrade
In unstable foundation areas, ground improvement methods, such as excavation and replacement, or dynamic
compaction, stone columns, wick drains
Placement of a leveling pad for the erection of the facing elements
This generally unreinforced concrete pad is often only 1 ft (300 mm) wide and 6 in. (150 mm) thick and is
used for MSEW construction only, where concrete panels are subsequently erected
Erection of the first row of facing panels on the prepared leveling pad
The first row of facing panels may be full, or half-height panels, depending upon the type of facing used. Only the first
tier of panels must be braced to maintain stability and alignment. Subsequent rows of panels are simply wedged and
clamped to adjacent panels. The erection of facing panels and placement of the soil backfills should proceed
simultaneously.
Placement and compaction of reinforced wall fill on the subgrade to the level of the first layer of reinforcement and
its compaction.
The fill should be compacted to the specified density, usually 95 to 100 percent. Wall fill lift thickness must be
controlled based on specification requirements and vertical distribution of reinforcement elements. The uniform loose
lift thickness of the reinforced backfill should not exceed 12 in. (300 mm).
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 12
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCE
Placement of the first layer of reinforcing elements on the wall fill.
The reinforcements are placed and connected to the facing panels, when the compacted fill has been brought up to the
level of the connection. The reinforcements are generally placed perpendicular to back of the facing panels.
Placement of the wall fill over the reinforcing elements to the level of the next reinforcement layer and compaction
of the wall fill.
The previously outlined steps are repeated for each successive layer.
Construction of traffic barriers and copings.
This final construction sequence is undertaken after the final panels have been placed, and the wall fill has been
completed to its final grade
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 13
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 14
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 15
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 16
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 17
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Principles
Failure Modes The MSE walls may have the following modes of failure:
(1) external, (2) internal, (3) local, (4) compound, and (5) global (or deep seated) as shown.
The external failure includes sliding, overturning, and bearing failure.
The internal failure may result from the rupture, pullout, and connection failure of reinforcement.
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 18
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Potential Slip Surface and Tension in Reinforcement
The reinforced fill is divided into active and stable zones by a slip surface as shown. The active zone tends to slide
down under its self-weight, while the reinforcement anchored in the stable zone provides tensile resistance to stabilize
the active zone.
A planar or bi-planar slip surface is often assumed for design of geosynthetic-reinforced earth walls or metallic-
reinforced earth walls, respectively, based on Coulomb or Rankine’s theory for the internal analysis of an MSE wall.
The rear end of a reinforcement is controlled by pullout capacity of the reinforcement, while the front end is
controlled by the connection force between reinforcement and wall facing
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 19
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Active Earth Pressure Theory
The analysis of a geosynthetic- reinforced earth wall is mainly based on active earth pressure theory (i.e., Rankine or
Coulomb’s theory).
For external stability analysis, the active thrust from the retained soil can be calculated based on the coefficient of
external active earth pressure, the unit weight of the retained soil, and the height of the wall, including the top slope
height
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 20
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Active Earth Pressure Theory The lateral component of the active thrust, PaH, is the
driving force for possible lateral sliding and overturning
of the reinforced mass as a rigid body
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 21
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Active Earth Pressure Theory
The lateral component of the active thrust, PaH, is the driving force for possible lateral sliding and overturning of the
reinforced mass as a rigid body. The sliding resistance develops at the base of the reinforced fill.
The soil weights,W1 and W2, and the vertical component of the active thrust, PaV, are the stabilizing forces to resist
the possible rotation induced by the lateral component of the active thrust, PaH. The vertical applied load as a result
of W1, W2, and PaV, should be checked against the allowable bearing capacity of the foundation.
AASHTO (2012) defines the reinforced zone and the
reinforcement length start from the back of the wall face.
However, the National Concrete Masonry Association (2010)
defines the reinforced zone and the reinforcement length start
from the front of the wall face.
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 22
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Internal Stability
For internal stability analysis, the reinforced fill is divided into an active zone and a stable zone, as shown in Figure
• Reinforcements anchored in the stable zone provide tensile resistance to the active zone.
• The potential failure plane, which divides the active and stable zones, can be determined by the inclination
angle, 𝜓, (𝜓 = 45∘ + 𝜙r∕2)
The active lateral earth pressure applied
on the back of the wall facing can be
induced by the active earth pressure of
the reinforced fill and the surcharge on the
top of the wall
When the wall batter is smaller than 10∘, the coefficient of
internal active earth pressure can be further simplified into
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CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Internal Stability
The variation of lateral earth pressure coefficient ratio depends
on the depth below the top of the wall as shown in Figure.
For geosynthetic reinforcements, the lateral earth pressure
coefficient is constant with depth and equal to Kai.
For metallic reinforcement, the lateral earth pressure coefficient
decreases with depth down to 6m and then becomes constant
with depth.
The active lateral earth pressure on the back of the wall facing
is carried by the reinforcements at different elevations.
The tensile resistance provided by each reinforcement depends
on the tensile rupture strength, pullout capacity, and connection
strength with facing
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 24
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Design Considerations
Performance Requirements
The performance requirements tabulated in Table are
commonly used in practice for the design of MSE walls.
British Standard BS8006 (2010) and AASHTO (2012) require
that the reinforcement length should be at least 70%
the wall height under a normal condition.
Research shows that the MSE walls may have large
deformations if the reinforcement length is less than 60%
the wall height.
External Stability Analysis
In the analysis of base sliding, the reinforced fill is treated as a
rigid block subjected to lateral load from the retained soil
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 25
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Design Considerations Overturning
Performance Requirements
The factor of safety against overturning about the toe of the
External Stability Analysis wall as shown in Figure 10.38 can be calculated as follows:
In the analysis of base sliding, the reinforced fill is
treated as a rigid block subjected to lateral load from
the retained soil. where cb and 𝛿b are the interface
cohesion and friction angle between wall base and
foundation soil The overturning of the reinforced fill can also be controlled
by limiting the eccentricity at the base of the reinforced zone
to be less than (1/6) L on soil or (1/4) L on rock. The
eccentricity, e, can be calculated in the same way as a footing
subjected to a moment as follows:
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CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Design Considerations
Performance Requirements
Bearing Failure
Due to the driving moment by the thrust from the retained soil, the applied pressure at the base of the wall is not uniform.
The resultant reaction force, Nbs, has an eccentricity, e, from the center of the wall base.
The ultimate bearing capacity of the MSE wall foundation with
the equivalent base width, L − 2e, is
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 27
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Design Considerations
Performance Requirements
Internal Stability Analysis
The reinforced fill is divided into active and
stable zones by a slip surface.
The active zone tends to slide down, while the reinforcements anchored in
the stable zone provide tensile resistance to stabilize the active zone.
The rear end of each reinforcement is controlled by the pullout capacity
of the reinforcement while the front end is controlled by the connection
force between reinforcement and wall facing.
In internal stability analysis, it is assumed that each reinforcement carries
the lateral pressure within the tributary distance from the midpoint of the
upper spacing to the midpoint of the lower spacing, as shown in Figure
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CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Design Considerations
Performance Requirements
Internal Stability Analysis
The uppermost reinforcement carries all the lateral pressure above the
reinforcement and the lateral pressure down to the midpoint of the
lower space.
Similarly, the lowermost reinforcement carries the lateral pressure
from the midpoint of the upper space to all the lateral pressure below
the reinforcement. The maximum tension in each reinforcement
can be calculated using the following equation:
The reinforcement should be designed with a required factor
of safety against possible rupture and pullout as follows
Lecturer: Dr Muhammad Umar (Room C208; Email: [Link]@[Link]) 29
CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Design Considerations
Performance Requirements
Internal Stability Analysis
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CV 5037 – Ground Improvement Principles Lecture 9 : Pre-loading
Design Considerations
Design Parameters and Procedure
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