Influence of Inadequate Compaction near Facing on Construction Response of Wrapped-Face Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls

Standard practice for the compaction of backfill soil near the facing of a mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall or embankment is to use lightweight compaction equipment to prevent excessive facing deformation. Complications caused by compaction with heavy equipment near the facing could also include misalignment or structural damage of the wall facing and overstressing of the reinforcement layers. However, inadequate compaction near the facing could result in later settlement or appearance of voids behind the facing. Little research has been reported in the literature to quantify the effects of loosely compacted soil behind the facing on the stability and serviceability of MSE walls at the end of construction. The influence of inadequate compaction effort near the facing on the construction performance of idealized wrapped-face MSE wall models was investigated by using a numerical simulation approach. It was shown that inadequate backfill compaction within 1 m of the wall facing could increase the wall lateral displacement by about 40% and the reinforcement strains by about 90% compared with the response of an otherwise identical (i.e., control) wall model constructed with uniform compaction throughout the backfill. This effect was found to be more significant for higher-quality backfills with greater friction angle values and less stiff reinforcement materials. Results of this study on idealized wrapped-face wall models highlight the importance of proper soil compaction and quality control near the facing of MSE walls and offer example quantitative increases that could be expected in the out-of-alignment and reinforcement loads in these MSE structures.