Post-earthquake investigation on several geosynthetic-reinforced soil retaining walls and slopes during the Ji-Ji earthquake of Taiwan

This paper gives an overview on the application of geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures in Taiwan. Taiwan has an unique topography and geotechnical conditions that rendered a less conservative and more challenging design c ompared to that of North America, Europe and Japan. The Ji-Ji (Chi-Chi) ear thquake of 1999 gave an opportunity to examine the behavior of reinforced s oil structures. The performance of several modular-block reinforced soil re taining walls and reinforced slopes at the vicinity of the fault was evalua ted. Reinforced structures performed better than unreinforced soil retainin g wails. The failure cases were highlighted and the cause of failure was id entified. The lack of seismic design consideration could be a major cause o f failure. The compound failure mode, the inertia force of the blocks, and the connection stiffness and strength relative to the large dynamic earth p ressure, were among major items that would warrant further design considera tion. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.