Some problems in design of geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures

During the past three decades, geosynthetic reinforcement has been used extensively in geotechnical structures, but the mechanism of interaction between reinforcement and soil is not fully understood, as a result, the conservatireness in the design is found frequently. The conservatireness of design method for geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures is examined. Some discussions on the design of geosynthetic retaining walls, reinforced fill slopes, reinforced embankments over soft soil foundations and reinforced piled embankments are presented. On the basis of the recorded strain and stress in a number of published field case histories, the conservatism of design is further pointed out. It is indicated that the research on the interaction between reinforcement and soil is very important, and that the design method on basis of deformation coordination is necessary.