Numerical Simulation of Deformation of Back-to-Back Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls Supporting Strip Footings

Back-to-back mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls are increasingly used to support footings in transportation infrastructure. While previous studies focused on collapse states and bearing capacity, limited attention has been paid to service-level deformation, which is crucial for long-term performance and serviceability. To address this gap, this study presents a numerical investigation of back-to-back MSE walls with footings at both service and ultimate limit states. The wall construction is modeled in stages to incorporate soil compaction. The numerical model, employing both linear and nonlinear-elastic–plastic constitutive models for soil, was first validated against measurements from a full-scale, well-instrumented reinforced wall. A subsequent parametric analysis assessed the influence of backfill soil properties, reinforcement, and wall geometry on lateral facing displacement and wall crest settlement under both service and failure loads. Closed-form performance functions are proposed to predict deformations efficiently without resorting to sophisticated numerical simulations. By focusing on deformation behavior, this study offers critical insights that enhance design practices for back-to-back MSE walls beyond conventional ultimate bearing capacity assessments.