Workshop: Simulation Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall Besides Heap Soil In Abaqus

Using backfill soils with cohesive fine contents to construct geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) retaining walls for permanent applications has gained significant attention in recent years. These backfills are considered marginal because they contain cohesive fines with a plasticity index (PI) greater than 6, and in some cases up to 15%. When properly justified, this approach can improve the cost-effectiveness of GRS walls.

However, unlike clean granular soils, cohesive fine soils show a noticeable creep response under constant loading. As a result, GRS walls built with such backfills exhibit time-dependent behavior that differs greatly from those constructed with clean granular materials.

In this tutorial, a simulation of a geosynthetic-reinforced soil retaining wall with heap soil has been carried out in Abaqus. The geosynthetic component is modeled using beam elements. Figures from the simulation are shown below.