Long-term variations of force and strain in a steep geogrid-reinforced soil slope

Instrumentation was used to measure soil temperature and, independently, th e force and strain in a steep geogrid-reinforced soil slope. The monitoring period extends to 10 years after construction. A nonlinear increase of for ce occurs with time that is described by a hyperbolic representation. The e lapsed time to achieve force equilibrium was approximately 2.5 x 10(4) hour s (approximately three years). The time-dependent increase of reinforcement force is attributed to deformation of the structure resulting from creep o f the backfill sand. Strain in the reinforcement exhibits a complex variati on with time. The long-term variation of strain is attributed primarily to: (i) the nonlinear increase of force; and (ii) creep of the geogrid reinfor cement. Seasonal temperature fluctuations in the backfill sand may induce a dditional variations in strain.