A simplified pseudo-static seismic analysis of reinforced soil walls with uniform surcharge

This paper presents a simple solution based on the limit equilibrium of sliding soil wedge of reinforced backfill subjected tothe horizontal acceleration in the framework of the pseudo-static method. in particular, contrary to most studies on thereinforced retaining wall, the solution proposed in this study, takes into account the effect of the uniform surcharge on thereinforced backfill soil and of its distance from the face of the wall. the results are investigated in dimensionless form of themaximum reinforcement required strength (kmax), the dimension of the sliding wedge (lc/h), and the factor of safety (fs).compared to the reinforced backfill without surcharge, the presence of surcharge over the reinforced backfill and of itsdistance from the top of the backfill have significant effects on the stability of the system. for a fixed surcharge, a minimumdistance of surcharge exists for which the presence of the surcharge does not affect the solution and the failure mechanism isthat corresponding to the case of system with no surcharge. a detailed design example is included to illustrate usage ofproposed procedures. comparisons of the present results with available results show a favorable agreement.