Apesar das vantagens relacionadas ao uso de estruturas de contenção em solo reforçado, a maioria das obras em nosso país ainda é executada por soluções convencionais. A ausência de um conhecimento mais profundo sobre o real comportamento das estruturas em solo reforçado, principalmente em termos de deslocamentos, certamente impede uma utilização mais intensa desse tipo de obra no Brasil. Com isso, para contribuir para um melhor entendimento do desempenho de estruturas em solo reforçado, foram construídos oito protótipos de estrutura de contenção em solo reforçado com geotêxtil, com 4,0 m de altura cada. Todas as estruturas foram instrumentadas, principalmente visando os deslocamentos, para avaliar o comportamento de campo. Adicionalmente, foi realizada a análise, em longo prazo, de um talude íngreme com 15,3 m de altura, construído no estado americano de Idaho, em que foram realizadas leituras até cinco anos após o fim da construção. Esse trabalho apresenta os resultados de cada protótipo construído, juntamente com os resultados do talude íngreme em Idaho, tanto em curto, quanto em longo prazo. As análises desenvolvidas compreendem, além da avaliação dos resultados individuais de cada estrutura, uma análise paramétrica entre todos os protótipos, investigando entre outros fatores, o tipo de solo, tipo de geossintético e geometria interna das estruturas. Além disso, foi realizada uma abordagem especial sobre a análise em longo prazo do protótipo 7. Dentre as conclusões mais importantes obtidas nesta pesquisa, podem-se citar as grandes deformações de fluência registradas no protótipo 7, a tendência de formação de uma superfície potencial de ruptura linear para os protótipos construídos com solo granular e de espiral logarítmica para os protótipos construídos com solos coesivos, a importância da coesão no bom comportamento das estruturas e a redução das movimentações verticais das estruturas com o acréscimo do teor de areia na granulometria do solo / Despite the important advantages associated with the use of geotextiles as reinforcement, most retaining walls in Brazil still use more conventional. The lack of field monitoring data regarding the internal and face displacements of these structures has certainly prevented broader use of this reinforced soil technology. This study addresses several aspects related to the behavior of geotextile-reinforced soil structures, such as the deformability of reinforcement materials under the confinement of soil, and quantification of the actual failure mechanisms. To achieve these goals, eight 4.0 m high geotextile-reinforced soil retaining wall prototypes were built and instrumented in order to quantify their behavior under ambient atmospheric conditions. Granular and poorly draining backfills were used in this study. Innovative construction methods and instrumentation were developed specifically for this research program. A significant laboratory testing program was conducted to quantify the stress-strain properties of the soils and geosynthetics involved in the construction of the walls. As a reference, the behaviors of these prototype structures were compared with that of a long term analysis of a steep slope in Idaho, USA. This wall is 15.3 m high, with displacement measurements carried out until five years after the end of the construction. A parametric analysis was conducted for the prototypes, in order to investigate the effects of soil type, reinforcement type and internal geometry of the structures. Among the most important conclusions obtained in this research, it is the large creep strains observed in prototype 7, the tendency of a linear potential slip surface observed for the walls constructed with granular backfills, and a log spiral slip surface for the prototypes constructed with cohesive backfills, the importance of the apparent cohesion in the behavior of the structures, and the reduction of the vertical movements of the structures with the increase of the amount of sand in the grain size distribution of the soil

Soil nail walls are a form of mechanical earth stabilization for cut situations. They consist of the introduction of passive inclusions (nails) into soil cut lifts. These nailed lifts are then tied together with a structural facing (usually shotcrete) . The wall lifts are constructed incrementally from the top of cut down. Soil nail walls are being recognized as having potential for large cost savings over other alternatives. The increasing need to provide high capacity roadways in restricted rights of way under structures such as bridges will require increasing use of techniques such as combined soil nail and piling walls. The Swift Delta Soil Nail wall required installing nails between some of the existing pipe piling on the Oregon Slough Bridge. This raised questions of whether the piling would undergo internal stress changes due to the nail wall construction. Thus, it was considered necessary to understand the soil nail wall structure interaction in relation to the existing pile supported abutment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the Swift Delta Wall using finite element (FE) modeling techniques. Valuable data were available from the instrumentation of the swift Delta Wall. These data were compared with the results of the FE modeling. This study attempts to answer the following two questions: 1. Is there potential for the introduction of new bending stresses to the existing piling? 2. Is the soil nail wall system influenced by the presence of the piling? A general purpose FE code called ABAQUS was used to perform both linear and non-linear analyses. The analyses showed that the piling definitely underwent some stress changes. In addition they also indicated that piling influence resulted in lower nail stresses. Comparison of measured data to predicted behavior showed good agreement in wall face deflection but inconsistent agreement in nail stresses. This demonstrated the difficulty of modeling a soil nail due to the many variables resulting from nail installation.

A numerical study was performed in order to investigate the effects of base excitation characteristics (peak acceleration amplitude and frequency of the excitation), soil strength and wall flexibility on the dynamic response of cantilever earth-retaining walls. In this study, Plaxis v8.2 dynamic finite element code was used. Previous 1-g shake table tests performed by &Ccedil / ali&amp / #56256 / &amp / #56570 / an (1999) and Yunat&ccedil / i (2003) were used to compare the experimental results with those obtained by finite element analysis. Comparison of experimental and numerical results indicated that the code was capable of predicting the dynamic lateral thrust values and bending moment profiles on the wall stems. In the light of these validation studies, a parametric study was carried on for a configuration that consists of an 8 meters high retaining wall supporting the same height of dry cohesionless backfill. Total and incremental dynamic thrust values, points of application and dimensionless bending moment values were presented together with the results obtained from commonly used pseudo static Mononobe-Okabe method and Steedman-Zeng approaches. According to the finite element analyses results, total dynamic active thrust act at approximately 0.30H above wall base. Base motion frequency becomes an important factor on magnitudes of dynamic active thrust when it approaches to the natural frequency of the system. Significantly high overturning moments were predicted at wall base in this case. It was observed that increasing wall rigidity causes an increase in forces acting on the wall stem during dynamic motion.

Αντικείμενο της Διατριβής αποτελεί η διερεύνηση των δυνατοτήτων του Γεωαφρού Διογκωμένης Πολυστερίνης (ΓΔΠ) για τη χρησιμοποίησή του ως σεισμικό μονωτικό παρέμβλημα σε συμβατικούς τοίχους εδαφικής αντιστήριξης (τύπου βαρύτητας ή προβόλου) καθώς και σε ακρόβαθρα γεφυρών. Η παρούσα έρευνα βασίζεται στην αριθμητική ανάλυση της συμπεριφοράς συμβατικών τοίχων αντιστήριξης κάτω από τη δράση οριζόντιας σεισμικής διέγερσης βάσης. Οι αναλύσεις διεξάγονται τόσο για μη-μονωμένους τοίχους όσο και για τοίχους σεισμικά μονωμένους με παρέμβλημα ΓΔΠ. Το παρέμβλημα έχει τη μορφή κατακόρυφου φύλλου μικρού σχετικά πάχους που τοποθετείται σε επαφή με την πίσω όψη του τοίχου παρεμβαλλόμενο μεταξύ τοίχου και επιχώματος. Οι αναλύσεις διεξάγονται χρησιμοποιώντας τη μέθοδο πεπερασμένων στοιχείων (κώδικας PLAXIS v.8) με την παραδοχή ιξωδοελαστικής συμπεριφοράς εδαφικού επιχώματος και κατακόρυφου ελαστικού τοίχου δεδομένης ευκαμψίας και στροφικής αντίστασης της βάσης. Ως δυναμική διέγερση βάσης χρησιμοποιούνται αρμονικές χρονοϊστορίες επιτάχυνσης μεταβαλλόμενου εύρους και συχνότητας. Κατ’ αρχήν αξιολογείται η αξιοπιστία της χρησιμοποιούμενης μεθόδου ανάλυσης και τα αποτελέσματα των αναλύσεων συγκρίνονται με ανάλογα δημοσιευμένα αποτελέσματα και διαπιστώνεται πολύ καλή συμφωνία όσον αφορά την τιμή της σεισμικής ώθησης και το ύψος εφαρμογής της από τη βάση του τοίχου. Για την περίπτωση των σεισμικά μονωμένων (με παρέμβλημα ΓΔΠ) τοίχων οι εξεταζόμενες παράμετροι περιλαμβάνουν το σχήμα του παρεμβλήματος, την πυκνότητα και το ποσοστιαίο (σε σχέση με το ύψος του τοίχου) πάχος του ΓΔΠ, tr, την ευκαμψία του τοίχου, την καθ’ ύψος μεταβολή του μέτρου ελαστικότητας του ΓΔΠ και τη συχνότητα διέγερσης της βάσης. Η αποτελεσματικότητα της σεισμικής μόνωσης περιγράφεται ποσοτικά με τον συντελεστή Ar που ορίζεται ως το επί τοις εκατό ποσοστό της μείωσης (λόγω μόνωσης) της σεισμικής ώθησης σε σχέση με την τιμή που προκύπτει χωρίς μόνωση. Σχετικά με το σχήμα του παρεμβλήματος (κατά την έννοια του ύψους του τοίχου) διεξήχθησαν αναλύσεις για ορθογωνικό σχήμα και τρία τριγωνικά σχήματα και τα αποτελέσματα υποδεικνύουν ότι η βέλτιστη αποτελεσματικότητα επιτυγχάνεται με χρήση ορθογωνικού σχήματος. Επίσης διαπιστώθηκε ότι είναι δυνατή η επίτευξη τιμών της αποτελεσματικότητας σεισμικής μόνωσης Ar>50% για τιμές πάχους παρεμβλήματος tr 15%. Τα αποτελέσματα υποδεικνύουν επίσης ότι, επειδή η προκύπτουσα σχέση Ar - tr είναι μη γραμμική, απαιτούνται σχετικά μεγάλα πάχη παρεμβλήματος για τη μείωση της σεισμικής ώθησης σε ποσοστό μεγαλύτερο του 50%. Τέλος, για τον αντισεισμικό σχεδιασμό τοίχων αντιστήριξης προτείνεται δοκιμαστικά η εφαρμογή διαδικασίας που βασίζεται στον ΕΑΚ 2000, χρησιμοποιώντας όμως διπλάσια τιμή για το συντελεστή συμπεριφοράς, qw, εφόσον επιδιώκεται η επίτευξη αποτελεσματικότητας Ar=50%. / The objective of the Thesis is the investigation of the possibility to use the Expanded Polystyrene Geofoam (EPS Geofoam) for the seismic isolation of earth retaining walls. The research is based on the results of numerical analyses (using the finite element method) for determining the response of vertical walls supporting horizontal backfill and subjected to horizontal harmonic base excitation. The seismic isolation is realized by placing a column of EPS geofoam (compressible inclusion) between the back-face of the wall and the backfill. The response is calculated by using elastic analysis (with viscous damping for the backfill material). The efficiency of seismic isolation is quantitavely described by the Isolation Efficiency, Ar, defined as the ratio (in percent) of the reduction of earthquake thrust (due to isolation) to the earthquake thrust without isolation. The parameters investigated are the shape of the inclusion, the density and the (percent) thickness, tr, of the EPS geofoam, the wall flexibility, the variation of EPS geofoam modulus of elasticity with depth as well as the amplitude and frequency of excitation. The results of the analyses indicate that the optimum shape of the inclusion is the orthogonal (i.e. constant thickness with depth) whereas the effect of the inhomogeneity of the EPS geofoam along the depth of the wall is negligible, as long as the analysis is conducted using a constant mean value for the Modulus of Elasticity of EPS. The results also indicate that an Isolation Efficiency of about 50% may be achieved by using an inclusion thickness of about 15% of the wall height. Due to the nonlinearity of the relation Ar – tr, further increase of the inclusion thickness has a minor effect on the isolation efficiency of the inclusion. Based on the results of all analyses a tentative procedure is proposed for the earthquake resistant design of earth retaining walls. According to the procedure, the wall is designed following the methodology of the Hellenic Seismic Code (2000) and using qw values twice as those indicated by the Code. The required thickness of the EPS inclusion, tr, is then selected from a diagram relating the tr value to the flexibility of the wall and the density of the inclusion.

Apesar das vantagens relacionadas ao uso de estruturas de contenção em solo reforçado, a maioria das obras em nosso país ainda é executada por soluções convencionais. A ausência de um conhecimento mais profundo sobre o real comportamento das estruturas em solo reforçado, principalmente em termos de deslocamentos, certamente impede uma utilização mais intensa desse tipo de obra no Brasil. Com isso, para contribuir para um melhor entendimento do desempenho de estruturas em solo reforçado, foram construídos oito protótipos de estrutura de contenção em solo reforçado com geotêxtil, com 4,0 m de altura cada. Todas as estruturas foram instrumentadas, principalmente visando os deslocamentos, para avaliar o comportamento de campo. Adicionalmente, foi realizada a análise, em longo prazo, de um talude íngreme com 15,3 m de altura, construído no estado americano de Idaho, em que foram realizadas leituras até cinco anos após o fim da construção. Esse trabalho apresenta os resultados de cada protótipo construído, juntamente com os resultados do talude íngreme em Idaho, tanto em curto, quanto em longo prazo. As análises desenvolvidas compreendem, além da avaliação dos resultados individuais de cada estrutura, uma análise paramétrica entre todos os protótipos, investigando entre outros fatores, o tipo de solo, tipo de geossintético e geometria interna das estruturas. Além disso, foi realizada uma abordagem especial sobre a análise em longo prazo do protótipo 7. Dentre as conclusões mais importantes obtidas nesta pesquisa, podem-se citar as grandes deformações de fluência registradas no protótipo 7, a tendência de formação de uma superfície potencial de ruptura linear para os protótipos construídos com solo granular e de espiral logarítmica para os protótipos construídos com solos coesivos, a importância da coesão no bom comportamento das estruturas e a redução das movimentações verticais das estruturas com o acréscimo do teor de areia na granulometria do solo / Despite the important advantages associated with the use of geotextiles as reinforcement, most retaining walls in Brazil still use more conventional. The lack of field monitoring data regarding the internal and face displacements of these structures has certainly prevented broader use of this reinforced soil technology. This study addresses several aspects related to the behavior of geotextile-reinforced soil structures, such as the deformability of reinforcement materials under the confinement of soil, and quantification of the actual failure mechanisms. To achieve these goals, eight 4.0 m high geotextile-reinforced soil retaining wall prototypes were built and instrumented in order to quantify their behavior under ambient atmospheric conditions. Granular and poorly draining backfills were used in this study. Innovative construction methods and instrumentation were developed specifically for this research program. A significant laboratory testing program was conducted to quantify the stress-strain properties of the soils and geosynthetics involved in the construction of the walls. As a reference, the behaviors of these prototype structures were compared with that of a long term analysis of a steep slope in Idaho, USA. This wall is 15.3 m high, with displacement measurements carried out until five years after the end of the construction. A parametric analysis was conducted for the prototypes, in order to investigate the effects of soil type, reinforcement type and internal geometry of the structures. Among the most important conclusions obtained in this research, it is the large creep strains observed in prototype 7, the tendency of a linear potential slip surface observed for the walls constructed with granular backfills, and a log spiral slip surface for the prototypes constructed with cohesive backfills, the importance of the apparent cohesion in the behavior of the structures, and the reduction of the vertical movements of the structures with the increase of the amount of sand in the grain size distribution of the soil

I takt med att våra städer växer ställs det högre krav på exploateringen av nya områden. Befolkningen i våra städer ökar, detta medför att behovet av bostäder, infrastruktur, skolor och kollektivtrafik med mera ökar. För att tillgodose samhällets krav såväl som skapa attraktiva miljöer finns ett stort intresse i att omvandla tidigare obebodda områden till nya stadsdelar. För att tillgodose vår miljö och natur krävs att samtliga resurser och tillgångar värnas så att nästkommande generation ska kunna bedriva liv på vår planet. De områden som exploateras i dagsläget kan ha komplexa grundläggningsförutsättningar, exempelvis bestå av mark som är förorenad, något som ställer höga krav på grundläggningsarbetet.Denna rapport syftar till att undersöka ifall metoden förhöjd grundläggning är ett alternativ för kommande exploateringar. I rapporten jämförs en traditionell grundläggningsmetod med en förhöjd grundläggningsmetod. Områden som masshantering, grundvattenhantering, samordning samt behovet att stödkonstruktioner avhandlas här då de är centrala i jämförelsen. Ett referensområde söder om Stockholm studeras där komplexa grundläggningsförutsättningar råder som dessutom utgör en bra grund för att göra jämförelsen så verksam som möjligt. Rapporten avhandlar ungefärliga kostnader för grundläggning i de område som studeras ovan, även tillståndsprocesser för hantering av grundvatten samt frågan kring samordning utgör en central del kring de resultat och slutsatser rapporten påvisar.Resultaten visar att kostnadsbesparingar kan göras med metoden förhöjd grundläggning utifrån ett antal givna förutsättningar. De största besparingarna som kan göras är med mindre masshantering samt minskat behov av stödkonstruktioner. Resultatet påvisar en nyanserad bild av konsekvenserna där även negativa aspekter med förhöjd grundläggning lyfts fram. Samordning mellan inblandade aktörer blir än mer relevant då metoden vänder på den traditionella byggnadsordningen. Rapporten ger ett underlag till frågeställningen kring huruvida metoden är tillämpbar eller ej, där rapporten påvisar konkreta för- och nackdelar. / As our cities continue to grow, there is a high demand for exploitation of new areas. Population continue to shift to cities, which means that the need for housing, infrastructure, schools, public transportation, and more is increasing. To meet society's demands and create attractive environments, there is a great interest in transforming previously uninhabited areas into new neighborhoods. To ensure the protection of our environment and nature, all resources and assets must be preserved. The areas being exploited currently may have complex conditions for buildings and may include contaminated land. Which puts high demands on the foundation work.This report aims to investigate whether elevated foundations are an alternative for future developments. The report compares traditional foundation methods with elevated foundation. Areas such as mass management, groundwater management, coordination, and the need for retaining walls are discussed as they are central to the comparison. A reference area south of Stockholm is also discussed, where complex foundation conditions exist. This makes the comparison as effective as possible. The report covers costs as well as the licensing process for groundwater management and the issue of coordination, which are central to the results and conclusions the report presents.The results show that cost savings can be achieved with the elevated foundations under certain conditions. The area where the largest savings can be made is mass management and the reduced need for support structures. The results show a nuanced picture of the consequences, where negative aspects of Elevated Foundation are also highlighted. Coordination among actors involved becomes even more relevant as the method turns the traditional building order upside down. The report provides as advantages and disadvantages a basis for the question of whether the method is applicable or not.

Partout où la pierre est facilement disponible, on trouve des constructions en maçonnerie de pierre. Suivant les coutumes et les usages, les blocs de pierres sont assemblés bruts, simplement ébauchés ou parfaitement taillés, avec ou sans l'ajout d'un liant. Supplantée par le béton dans les constructions neuves depuis le milieu du XX} siècle, les ouvrages en maçonnerie demeurent majoritaires dans le patrimoine bâti français, un patrimoine qu'il convient d'entretenir rationnellement. L'objectif de ce travail de thèse est de poursuivre l'élaboration d'un cadre scientifique rigoureux et opérationnel afin de donner aux décideurs et aux gestionnaires les outils nécessaires pour mener à bien leur mission. Nous proposons ici deux outils d'évaluation de la stabilité d'ouvrages de soutènement en maçonnerie basés sur l'utilisation conjointe du calcul à la rupture avec des méthodes d'homogénéisation. Dans un premier temps, nous mettons d'abord au point un outil analytique permettant de dimensionner des ouvrages neufs ou d'évaluer la stabilité d'ouvrages peu déformés. Cet outil permet également de dimensionner des solutions de renforcement par clouage lorsque cela est jugé nécessaire. Dans un deuxième temps, nous implémentons cet outil dans un code numérique afin de lui donner la souplesse nécessaire à l'étude d'ouvrages non-conventionnels, de grandes taille ou fortement pathologique. Enfin, nous mettons en oeuvre plusieurs campagnes expérimentales qui nous fournissent les données nécessaires à la validation de ces modèles de calcul / Wherever stone is readily available, we encounter stone masonry buildings. Depending on customs or dedicated use, the blocks are used raw, lightly faced or perfectly cut, with or without the use of mortar. Althougth concrete has replaced masonry in new construction for some decades, the better part of the French built heritage is made of masonry, an heritage we are responsible for. This works aims at contributing to create a reliable scientific frame for that purpose. This thesis uses the yield design theory alongside with homogenisation techniques to study the stability of stone masonry earth retaining walls. First, we provide an analytical tool suitable for designing new structures or assessing the stability of existing ones that are still in good shape. Should it be needed, this tools allows for the design of a strengthening solution based on soil-nailing. Then, we implement it in a finite element code to give it the versatility required to study unconventionnal structures or structures badly damaged. We then present several experimental campaigns aiming at validating the proposed tools

A numerical investigation was conducted to evaluate the geotechnical safety and slope stability of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) landfills, considering the effects of geosynthetic reinforcements, biodegradation of the waste, and associated changes in material properties, and extreme wind force simulating hurricane conditions. Three different landfill slopes, 1:1, 1:2, and 1:3 having the height of 122m and width of 2134m, were analyzed using Limit Equilibrium Method (SLOPE/W) and Finite Element Modeling (ANSYS). Techniques developed in this study were used to analyze a case history involving a geogrid reinforced mixed landfill expansion located in Austria. It was found that few years after construction of the landfill, there is a significant decrease in the FS due to biodegradation. Extreme wind loading was also found to cause a substantial loss in the FS. The geosynthetic reinforcement increased the slope stability and approximately compensated for the damaging effects of biodegradation and wind loading. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Η ΒΥΠ διαθέτει αντίτυπο της διατριβής σε έντυπη μορφή στο βιβλιοστάσιο διδακτορικών διατριβών που βρίσκεται στο ισόγειο του κτιρίου της. / Εκτελώντας δυναμικές αναλύσεις με χρήση πεπερασμένων στοιχείων, αναλύεται η σεισμική απόκριση τεσσάρων τοίχων αντιστήριξης οπλισμένου εδάφους στην Ταϊβάν με στοιχεία πρόσοψης κυβόλιθους. Οι τοίχοι, των οποίων τα ύψη κυμαίνονται από 3.20 m έως 5.60 m και έχουν ως οπλισμούς στρώσεις γεωπλέγματος, υποβλήθηκαν στο σεισμό Chi-Chi (1999) και η συμπεριφορά τους κρίθηκε από επιτυχής έως ανεπιτυχής: δύο από αυτούς κατέρρευσαν, ένας υπέστη μόνο ελαφρές βλάβες, ενώ ο τέταρτος τοίχος παρέμεινε πρακτικά ανέπαφος. Η μη-γραμμική ανάλυση βασίσθηκε στα γνωστά γεωμετρικά και μηχανικά χαρακτηριστικά του κάθε τοίχου, του γεωπλέγματος, των γεωτεχνικών συνθηκών σε κάθε θέση, του είδους και των ιδιοτήτων του υλικού επίχωσης. Η συμπεριφορά του εδαφικού υλικού προσομοιώθηκε κάνοντας χρήση του κριτηρίου Mohr-Coulomb, ενώ ως διέγερση βάσης στις δυναμικές αναλύσεις πεπερασμένων στοιχείων χρησιμοποιήθηκαν τα καταγεγραμμένα επιταχυνσιογραφήματα κοντά στις θέσεις των τοίχων. Τα αποτελέσματα των αναλύσεων (και ειδικά η εκτιμώμενη παραμορφωμένη μορφή των τοίχων) επαλήθευσαν την παρατηρούμενη συμπεριφορά των τοίχων. Βασιζόμενοι στα αποτελέσματα, βρέθηκαν οι λόγοι της ανεπιτυχούς συμπεριφοράς των δύο τοίχων που κατέρρευσαν, ενώ εξηγήθηκε η διαφοροποίηση της συμπεριφοράς των δύο τοίχων που δεν υπέστησαν βλάβες. Επιπροσθέτως, πραγματοποιήθηκαν παραμετρικές αναλύσεις για να ευρεθεί η επίδραση σημαντικών παραμέτρων σχεδιασμού, όπως το βάθος θεμελίωσης του τοίχου, η απόσταση και το μήκος των οπλισμών, η συνεισφορά των ράβδων σύνδεσης στην ευστάθεια των στοιχείων πρόσοψης και η συνεισφορά της ανώτατης στρώσης οπλισμού στην ευστάθεια του τοίχου. Επίσης αναλύθηκε η ευστάθεια των τοίχων χρησιμοποιώντας ένα εμπορικά διαθέσιμο λογισμικό οριακής ισορροπίας, το οποίο βρέθηκε ικανό να προβλέψει την παρατηρούμενη επιτυχή και ανεπιτυχή συμπεριφορά των τεσσάρων τοίχων. / The seismic response of four reinforced soil segmental retaining walls in Taiwan, is analyzed using the dynamic finite element method. The walls – whose heights ranging from 3.20 m to 5.60 m and layers of geogrid reinforcement – were subjected to the Chi-Chi earthquake (1999) and their performance ranged from successful to unsuccessful: two of them were collapsed, one suffered only minor damage whereas the fourth wall remained practically intact. The non-linear analyses were based on the known geometrical and mechanical characteristics of each wall and of the geogrid reinforcement, the geotechnical conditions at each site and the type and properties of backfill material. The soil material behavior was modeled by using the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion whereas recorded accelerograms in the vicinity of the sites of the walls were used as base excitation in the dynamic finite analyses. The results of the analyses (and especially the estimated deformed shape of the walls) showed a remarkable agreement with the observed performance of the walls. Based on these results the reasons for the unsuccessful performance of the two failed walls were identified whereas the differentiation of the behavior of the two undamaged walls was explained. Furthermore, parametric analyses were conducted to identify the effects of such important design parameters as the depth of the foundation of the wall, the spacing and length of reinforcement, the contribution of connecting pins to the stability of the facing elements as well as the contribution of the top layer of reinforcement to the stability of the wall. The stability of the walls were also analyzed by using a commercially available limit equilibrium software which was found to be able to predict the observed successful and unsuccessful performance of the four walls.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:48:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 GilvanBSJ_DISSERT.pdf: 3763149 bytes, checksum: 74cfc52e8eaadf3e1722a2a37d52aca9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-07 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / Usually masonry structures has low tension strength, hence the design to flexural efforts can results in high reinforcement ratio, specification of high unit and prism strength, structural members with larger section dimensions and modification in structural arrangement to be possible to use masonry members. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the stiffness, the efforts distribution and the effect of horizontal elements (girders) and vertical elements (counterforts) distribution on the behavior of masonry blocks retaining walls. For this purpose, numerical modeling was performed on typical retaining wall arrangements by varying the amount and placement of horizontal and vertical elements, beyond includes elements simulating the reactions of the soil supporting the foundation of the wall. The numerical modeling also include the macro modeling strategy in which the units, mortar and grout are discretized by a standard volume that represents the masonry elastic behavior. Also, numerical model results were compared with those ones of simplified models usually adopted in bending design of masonry elements. The results show horizontal displacements, principal and shear stresses distribution, and bending moments diagrams. From the analysis it was concluded that quantity and manner of distribution of the girders are both important factors to the panel flexural behavior, the inclusion of the foundation changed significantly the behavior of the wall, especially the horizontal displacements, and has been proposed a new way of considering the flanges section of the counterforts / As estruturas de alvenaria solicitadas por elevados esfor?os de flex?o podem necessitar, dada a baixa resist?ncia ? tra??o, de elevadas taxas de armadura; de maior resist?ncia ? compress?o da alvenaria; de elementos estruturais com maiores dimens?es ou mesmo um rearranjo desses elementos para possibilitar o emprego da alvenaria. O estudo ora apresentado tem por objetivo avaliar a rigidez, a distribui??o de esfor?os e o efeito da distribui??o de cintas e de elementos verticais (contrafortes) no caso de muros de arrimo de alvenaria estrutural de blocos. Para tanto, foram realizadas modelagens num?ricas de arranjos t?picos de muro, variando a quantidade e o posicionamento de cintas horizontais, o espa?amento entre os contrafortes, al?m de incluir elementos simulando as rea??es do solo de apoio na funda??o do muro. A modelagem num?rica realizada empregou a estrat?gia de macromodelagem em que os blocos, a argamassa e o graute s?o discretizados pelo volume padr?o representativo do comportamento el?stico da alvenaria. Alternativamente, os resultados do modelo num?rico foram comparados com os de modelos simplificados comumente adotados nos projetos desse tipo de elemento estrutural. A an?lise dos resultados consistiu na verifica??o dos deslocamentos transversais, na distribui??o das tens?es principais (para balizar um futuro modelo de bielas e tirantes e os modos de ruptura), na distribui??o das tens?es de cisalhamento, e na obten??o de diagramas de momento fletor. A partir das an?lises foi poss?vel concluir que n?o apenas a quantidade, mas tamb?m a forma de distribui??o das cintas ? um fator relevante para a distribui??o dos esfor?os no painel fletido (pano de alvenaria), a inclus?o dos elementos de funda??o alterou significativamente o comportamento do muro, principalmente os deslocamentos transversais, al?m de ter sido proposta uma nova forma de considera??o de flanges na se??o resistente do contraforte