Effect of Skewing and Splaying on Pullout Capacity of Steel MSE Reinforcement

Structures embedded in the reinforced fill of Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) retaining walls often prevent the soil reinforcements from being placed in their proper, design configurations. Such conflicts are generally addressed by using alternative reinforcement layouts that circumvent the obstructions. Among the strategies used most commonly are skewing of strip type reinforcements and cutting and splaying of grid type reinforcement. This research investigated the impact of skewing and splaying on the pullout resistance capacity of these two types of reinforcement. The research involved a series of pullout tests that were conducted in a specially designed large scale pullout resistance test system. This MSE pullout load test system included an MSE test box with dimensions 12ft by 12ft (3.66m by 3.66m) in plan area and 4ft (1.22m) in depth. In this test system, the soil overburden pressures acting on the embedded earth reinforcement is simulated by using a reaction frame assembly