factor of safety of reinforced earth walls using SRM method

JigneshBPatel
JigneshBPatel Posts: 1 Calcite Rank Badge
in GeoStudio

I am a research scholar working on FEM analysis of reinforced earth (MSE) walls using SIGMA/W to evaluate both deformation and factor of safety (FoS). While the deformation results appear reasonable, I am facing issues with the stability results.

When I run the analysis using the Strength Reduction Method (SRM) in SIGMA/W, the model often shows failure at very low FoS values (e.g., 1.025–1.05), even though the corresponding deformations are quite small and do not suggest imminent failure.

This raises a doubt whether the SRM approach in SIGMA/W is fully applicable for models that include reinforcement elements (e.g., geogrids in reinforced earth walls).

Could you please clarify:

  • Is the SRM method in SIGMA/W valid for reinforced earth wall models with reinforcement elements?
  • If so, are there specific modeling considerations or parameter settings that I should be careful about to obtain realistic FoS values?

deformation contour and plastic points at finasl stage of construction

image.png image.png

plastic points in case of fos 1.05 srm method

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