Influence of Facing on the Performance of GRS Bridge Abutments
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(2020) 6:42
ORIGINAL PAPER
Influence of Facing on the Performance of GRS Bridge Abutments Ridvan Doger1,2 · Kianoosh Hatami1 Received: 30 May 2020 / Accepted: 22 August 2020 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract The paper reports the construction and surcharge load testing of two large-scale GRS bridge abutment models in an outdoor test station to investigate the influences that the facing type used could have on their load-bearing performance. The facing types examined included commonly used concrete masonry units (CMU) and much larger solid concrete blocks. Reinforcement spacing was kept at 200 mm in both models within the FHWA recommendations. Results show that using large facing blocks in the model abutment led to significant improvements in its load–deformation performance relative to that of the model with the CMU facing alternative. It is concluded that even though the structural contribution of facing is not relied upon in the FHWA guidelines, large-block facing construction could help improve the structural performance of GRS abutments in GRS-IBS projects. Keywords Geosynthetics · GRS-IBS · Bridge abutments · Large-scale model tests · Load-bearing capacity · Facing blocks · Facing deformation
Introduction Geosynthetic reinforced soil-integrated bridge systems (GRS-IBS) have been developed and become more widespread over the last decade primarily due to the support and promotion by the Federal Highway Administration [1–3], and increased participation of counties and transportation agencies across the USA. Construction experience and observed performance on several hundred projects to date have overall shown that GRS-IBS is indeed a viable and cost-effective bridge construction alternative relative to the conventional, deep-foundation abutment systems for local and county roads. Several studies to date have examined the performance of model GRS abutments using laboratory testing, field monitoring, and analytical and numerical approaches.
* Kianoosh Hatami [email protected] Ridvan Doger [email protected] 1
School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
Present Address: A&M Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc., Tulsa, OK, USA
2
Ahmadi and Bezuijen [4] constructed and tested two full-scale mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall models under strip footing load. They observed smaller reinforcement loads in the model with rigid facing relative to the model with flexible facing. Kakrasul et al. [5] measured lateral displacements and settlements of reduced-scale GRS wall models subjected to plate loading in the laboratory. Their results showed that the wall with wrapped-around facing had larger settlements and facing displacements than the wall with CMU facing. Nicks et al. [6] constructed three large-scale model GRS piers with different rectangular cross sections that were subjected to dead load surcharge levels within the range 131–142 kPa that simulated a bridge superstructure. Their results indicated that stress distributions in the mo
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