Study on the Anti-overturning Stability of Reinforced Soil Retaining Wall with Filling-reinforcement Band

ABSTRACT Soil retaining walls are a novel civil engineering structure. However, in recent years, the occurrence of forward tilt problem in these walls has drawn attention. This paper discusses the influence of changes in reinforcement and fill properties on the anti-overturning stability of retaining walls using field test data and Plaxis 2D finite element software’s strength reduction method. It also analyzes the coupling effect between fill and reinforcement. The results indicate that increasing the stiffness of georeinforced belts by 500kN/m can reduce horizontal wall displacement by approximately 3%. When rib spacing is large, reducing it can limit horizontal displacement. The inverted ladder reinforcement pattern with short reinforcement at the bottom and long reinforcement at the top maximizes performance. A Poisson ratio exceeding 0.3 increases horizontal wall displacement by about 24%. Increasing cohesive force improves stability by 17.7%, while small changes in friction angle make it more sensitive, enhancing stability by around 20%. This study proposes a conversion coefficient a for a 12m reinforced soil retaining wall and derives an anti-overturning stability formula for such walls. These research findings provide practical solutions for material selection in reinforced soil retaining walls, that can help in stabilising the soil retaining walls.