MAXIMUM REQUIRED BISECTORIAL REINFORCEMENT FORCE IN EMBANKMENTS ON SOFT GROUND

In the rotational stability analysis of reinforced embankments on soft ground, the maximum required reinforcement force to achieve the desir ed target factor of safety is usually determined by a total stress ana lysis, using a limit equilibrium approach and assuming a circular fail ure surface. Solutions are presented in the paper for the case when th e reinforcement force is assumed to act in the direction of the bisect or to the horizontal and tangential directions at the point where the failure surface intersects the reinforcement. In the first part of the paper, the failure surface is assumed to pass through the foundation soil and the embankment. The second part of the paper considers the pr esence of a full height dry tension crack in the embankment. The prese nce of a berm is considered. Solutions for the location of the critica l failure surface and the maximum required reinforcement force are pre sented in the form of simple equations. A few example problems are sol ved by using the solutions presented in the paper. The results agree w ell with the values obtained using other solutions.