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Geomechanics and Engineering Volume 36, Number 3, February10 2024 , pages 277-293 DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/gae.2024.36.3.277 |
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Seismic fragility assessment of shored mechanically stabilized earth walls |
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Sheida Ilbagitaher and Hamid Alielahi
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| Abstract | ||
| Shored Mechanically Stabilized Earth (SMSE) walls are types of soil retaining structures that increase soil stability under static and dynamic loads. The damage caused by an earthquake can be determined by evaluating the probabilistic seismic response of SMSE walls. This study aimed to assess the seismic performance of SMSE walls and provide fragility curves for evaluating failure levels. The generated fragility curves can help to improve the seismic performance of these walls through assessing and controlling variables like backfill surface settlement, lateral deformation of facing, and permanent relocation of the wall. A parametric study was performed based on a non-linear elastoplastic constitutive model known as the hardening soil model with small-strain stiffness, HSsmall. The analyses were conducted using PLAXIS 2D, a Finite Element Method (FEM) program, under plane-strain conditions to study the effect of the number of geogrid layers and the axial stiffness of geogrids on the performance of SMSE walls. In this study, three areas of damage (minor, moderate, and severe) were observed and, in all cases, the wall has not completely entered the stage of destruction. For the base model (Model A), at the highest ground acceleration coefficient (1 g), in the moderate damage state, the fragility probability was 76%. These values were 62%, and 54%, respectively, by increasing the number of geogrids (Model B) and increasing the geogrid stiffness (Model C). Meanwhile, the fragility values were 99%, 98%, and 97%, respectively in the case of minor damage. Notably, the probability of complete destruction was zero percent in all models. | ||
| Key Words | ||
| dynamic analysis; fragility curves; numerical method; seismic performance; Shored Mechanically Stabilized Earth (SMSE) wall | ||
| Address | ||
| Sheida Ilbagitaher: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Science and Culture, Tehran, Iran Hamid Alielahi: Department of Civil Engineering, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran | ||