Numerical study on the seismic behavior of narrow back-to-back geosynthetic reinforced soil walls with different reinforcement arrangements

Abstract

This study performs numerical analysis to investigate the influence of reinforcement arrangement on the seismic behavior of narrow back-to-back geosynthetic reinforced soil (NBBGRS) walls. Three reinforcement configurations of overlapped, unconnected, and connected are considered in this study. The seismic performance of different reinforcement configurations is assessed in terms of reduced horizontal acceleration coefficients (Kh), displacement propagation, and total earth pressure coefficients (KAE) at the facing. The results demonstrate that the overlap configuration provides effective load transfer, reduces displacements, and induces higher lateral earth pressures, improving overall performance. Based on the findings, it is recommended to adopt overlap reinforcement configurations for NBBGRS walls for seismic stability.