Abstract: Failure mode of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall in slope areas exhibits as the integral sliding of the backfill region along the slope. Particularly, the reduction of backfill strength obviously exacerbates the deformation of the wall. In this study, a novel micropile reinforcement scheme was proposed to investigate this failure mode. Finite element models of MSE wall of the slope before and after reinforcement were established and further validated by scaled model tests. Based on different natural conditions of the slope and the backfill strength, multivariate analysis was performed numerically to compare the stress and deformation behavior of MSE wall before and after micropile reinforcement. The results indicate that the reinforcement of micropiles can effectively prevent the sliding of backfill region along the slope. The displacements of the wall were decreased by 6.25% to 46.9%, according to different natural conditions of backslope. Moreover, the more obvious decrement was found when the backslope friction angle was lower. Based on different backfill strengths, the displacements were reduced by 6% to 56.1%, and the reduction was greater when the backfill strength was lower. In addition, the earth pressure and deformation of backfill soil declined greatly as well. Therefore, the results can provide an important guidance for the application of micropile-MSE wall in the practical engineering of road construction in mountainous areas.

Key words: mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall, numerical simulation, stress and deformation behavior, micropile, model tests