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ABSTRACT
Mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) techniques have proven to offer reliable and cost-effective solutions to many poor and unstable ground problems. However, till now there are many uncertainties regarding the selection of appropriate types of reinforcement and the evaluation of design parameters for MSE wall structures. This paper presents the results of a significant programme of large-scale laboratory tests conducted to examine the performance of two types of soil reinforcement namely smooth plain steel and ribbed steel strips. The reinforcements were subjected to a series of axial static and slow repeated loading under different levels of normal stress and their ultimate pullout capacity were determined. The mechanics of load mobilization at the soil-reinforcement interface and the failure modes of the reinforcements were analyzed. In general, the results showed that ribbed steel strips are more load efficient and safer reinforcements than smooth steel strips under both static and repeated loading.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to express his sincere gratitude to the Deanship of Scientific Research and to the College of Engineering at the University of Hail for providing all facilitations required for this research.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Mabrouk Touahmia
Dr Mabrouk Touahmia holds a PhD degree in Geotecgnical Engineering from Sheffield University. He joined the University of Hail in 2009 after periods at Queen’s University of Belfast, Nottingham Trent University and Tebessa University. His major areas of research interests include both the experimental and numerical aspects of soil reinforcement, ground improvement, geosynthetics and earth retaining structures.