Centrifuge Modeling Tests on Behavior of Tiered Shored Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls

The shored mechanically stabilized earth (SMSE) wall system is kind of narrow MSE walls designed and constructed next to the existing stable walls/slopes. However there are lack of in-depth investigations on the mechanism of SMSE walls, especially on the effects of inside terrace and additional offset between adjacent tiers on SMSE wall system. Utilizing the centrifuge modeling tests of SMSE walls, the measured data including crest settlement, lateral displacement of the facing and the earth pressure in the SMSE walls were analyzed. The results indicate that,compared with conventional MSE walls, SMSE walls have more uneven deformation both on crest settlement and on lateral displacement than conventional MSE walls, and around the inside terrace, unusual stress concentration and dissipation were observed. Adding offset between adjacent layers is an efficient measure to help control the deformation and improve the stability of SMSE wall system. The measured lateral pressure of narrow reinforced soil mass against the stable wall/slope is far below the theoretical active earth pressure, indicating that the stable wall/slope does not add extra lateral pressure to SMSE wall.