Durability of Galvanized Soil Reinforcement: More Than 30 Years of Experience with Mechanically Stabilized Earth

AASHTO promulgated specifications for the design of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls that define the characteristics of both the galvanized steel reinforcements and the backfill soils to be used in MSE wall construction. Although a few cases of poor performance have been documented, these occurrences are always correlated with a corrosive environment attributed to backfill or to site conditions that do not conform to the current design specifications. Data demonstrate that when good design and construction practices, as prescribed by AASHTO, are followed, the performance of metallic reinforcements exceeds current expectations for service life performance. The data also demonstrate that the current AASHTO metal loss model is unnecessarily conservative and that the AASHTO specifications should be revised to reflect documented in situ performance. To support this conclusion, the performance of galvanized steel reinforcements documented from nearly 150 observations distributed among 75 different sites throughout the United States and Europe are described, and these data are used as a basis to evaluate the metal loss model in the current AASHTO specifications.

Language

  • English

Media Info

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01024906
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 0309099846
  • Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
  • Created Date: May 31 2006 7:55AM