Numerical and Analytical Analysis of the Surcharge Application Distance influence on the Behavior of Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall

Many experimental, analytical and numerical studies have identified several sources of conservatism in the prediction of the reinforcement tension load such as the simplified method, the k-stiffness method and the simplified stiffness method which are based on the limit equilibrium approach. The current simplified stiffness method did not take into account the surcharge loading width and its application distance influence in the estimation of reinforcement tension. Therefore, the present study focuses on the modification of the Simplified Stiffness Method (SSM) by adding a new influence factor called the surcharge location factor into the simplified stiffness method expression to take into account this influence on the reinforcement tension load. The comparison of the results obtained from a numerical model using the finite difference code Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua in 3 Dimensions (FLAC3D) with the predicted analytical results using the original SSM and the modified SSM results show that adding the surcharge location factor Φsl improves the SSM prediction accuracy against the surcharge loading applied far from the facing.