Large-Scale Reinforced Clay Walls Backfilled with Clay at Cheng Kung University - Reinforced Soil Engineering: Advances in Research and Practice - page 181

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Large-Scale Reinforced Clay Walls
Backfilled with Clay at Cheng Kung
University
Ching-Chuan Huang, J. F. Wu, B. N. Huang,
A. L. Leu, and G. Y. Jean
National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
H. Y. Shan
National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
ABSTRACT
A study into the behavior of geosynthetic reinforced walls using clayey soil as
the backfill was performed. Two 2.77-m-high full-scale walls, namely, the
NCKU walls, were constructed using an alluvial clay containing 98% of fine
particles under carefully controlled conditions. Results of the long-term
monitoring on the behavior of NCKU walls indicated that cracks or shear planes
in the backfill may play important roles in the increase of pore water pressure
and the deformation of the wall face during rainfall. In addition to the NCKU
walls, a test embankment was also constructed to investigate the infiltration
characteristics of compacted clay under practical compaction procedure.
Dismantling of the NCKU walls and the test embankment was conducted to
investigate the locations of cracks and the water content distribution in the soil.
Results of FEM seepage analyses showed that in-plane drainage function of
nonwoven geotextile layers may not always be positive to the stability of clay
wall. Using an impermeable facing—a rigid concrete panel as used in the RRR
method and a geodrain layer close to the top of the wall—is suggested for
reinforced clay walls.