Mechanically reinforced earth wall using geotube and wire mesh for bridge abutment

An approach section on an abutment is located between the soil embankment and the structure, which may cause an uneven surface due to different settlement between the abutment and the soil embankment. This study proposes a new type of wall, which separates the abutment from the backfill material using a mechanically stabilized wall. A new type of keystone which incorporates Geotube and wire mesh is proposed and evaluated. Large-scale laboratory tests were performed to evaluate the behavior of the proposed wall type. The applied load on the surface is 180kN of cyclic loading considering the severe conditions until 2,000,000 times. After cyclic loading, horizontal and vertical displacements of the wall face and vertical earth pressure were measured, the measured values had very small displacements, and the vertical earth pressure on the proposed wall type was much smaller than on the non-reinforced wall. Numerical analyses were performed to investigate the applicability of the proposed keystone type, which incorporates Geotube and wire mesh. The maximum horizontal displacements along GRS wall faces, settlements at the top of pavement and track bed, and tensile forces applied on geotextiles under traffic loads were investigated. The results of the numerical analysis showed that the proposed wall can be used for high-speed railway abutment.