Seismic Bearing Capacity of Strip Footings Located Close to the Crest of Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Structures

This paper investigates the performance of geo-reinforced soil structures subjected to loading applied to strip footings positioned close to a slope crest. The kinematic theorem of limit analysis, which is based on the upper bound theory of plasticity, is applied for evaluating the ultimate bearing capacity within the framework of pseudo-static approach to account for earthquake effects. The mechanism considered in this analysis is a logarithmic spiral failure surface, which is assumed to start at the edge of the loaded area far from the slope, consistent with the observed failure mechanisms shown in the experimental tests reported in the literature. A parametric study is then carried out to investigate the influence of various parameters including the geosynthetic configuration, backfill soil friction angle, footing distances from the crest of the slope, slope angles and horizontal seismic coefficients. Attention is paid to the failure mechanism because its maximum depth is the depth at least to which the reinforcements must be placed. Results of the analyses are presented in the form of non-dimensional design charts for practical use. Finally, a simple procedure based on the assessment of earthquake-induced permanent displacements is shown for the design of footing resting on reinforced slopes subjected to earthquake