Physical Modelling of a Strip Footing on a Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Wall Containing Tire Shred Subjected to Monotonic and Cyclic Loading

In this study, the mechanical behavior of geosynthetic reinforced soil walls was investigated through physical modeling subjected to strip footing monotonic and cyclic loads at various stress paths. The influence of footing location, stress level, post-cyclic behavior and sand-tire shred admixture on the lateral deformations of the wall facing, bearing capacity and the settlement beneath the footing were assessed. To this aim, 12 physical model tests were conducted on a scale of 1: 4. Results indicated that the bearing capacity has increased with an increase in the offset distance of the strip footing to the wall facing and adding tire shred to the backfill material; but an increase is more prominent by adding tire shred to the backfill material. The location of the footing from the wall facing was a crucial parameter on the deformation of facing and the failure mode of the footing. Failure in the facing was the predominant mode of failure in the near facing footing. However, a rupture in the geosynthetic caused failure in the footing far from facing footing. Also, the results of cyclic loading tests showed both permanent displacement and residual settlement accumulated with load cycles and a majority of them occurred over the first fifteen cycles. Depending on where strip footing was located, it may or may not induce a magnifying effect on subsequent cyclic loading responses.