SEISMIC STABILITY OF SATURATED REINFORCED SOIL WALLS

This paper studies the effect of saturation of backfill on the seismic stability of reinforced soil walls (RSWs) using centrifuge shaking table tests. For comparison, degradation of static stability and seismic stability of a RSW under unsaturated condition was also investigated. Test results showed that the RSW under saturated condition had enough static stability. However, seismic stability of saturated RSW significantly decreased as compared with that under unsaturated condition. The saturated model RSW did not collapse, though it showed large deformation. It maintained sufficient stability after shakings although a clear slip surface appeared in the backfill. Finally, it is discussed how to evaluate residual stability of RSWs damaged by earthquakes with test results and the simple evaluation method proposed by authors.