Etude theorique des efforts de tractions dans les armatures des ouvrages en terre armee

This paper presents a new design method, for reinforced earth walls and bridge abutments based on the analysis of laboratory studies on reinforced earth models and of observations on actual experimented structures. It consists of studying the equilibrium conditions of the active zone, limited by a potential slip surface which develops within the soil along the locus of the maximum traction forces in the reinforcements. Comparisons of theoretical results and experimental observations on three dimensional reduced scale laboratory models and on actual experimented structures are given to demonstrate the reliability of the proposed design method.