A study of soil-welded steel grid reinforcement interface friction by pull-out test

The interface friction coefficient is an important design parameter for reinforced soil structures where thefriction between the soil and reinforcement elements is mobilized. The pull-out test is the most commonlyadopted method to identify this friction coefficient. In this paper, 18 pull-out tests were conducted on twotypes of welded steel grids embedded in a sand to investigate the soil/reinforcement interaction. The testswere conducted under vertical stresses ranging from 20 to 140kPa on the reinforcement. Ju et al. (2004)developed a new test method based on a staged pull-out test for extensible reinforcements. In this studyand for inextensible reinforcement, this new test method has also been used. In a usual pull-out test, onlyone vertical stress has been used. For a staged pull-out test, several vertical stresses are used. The resultsof staged pull-out tests are in good agreement with results of usual pull-out test.

Keywords:

Pull-out test , Welded steel grid , Friction coefficient , Soil reinforcement