Abstract: The reinforced retaining wall with composite full-height rigid facing is a new reinforced retaining wall developed in recent years. The wall facing is composed of precast concrete slab and cast-in-place concrete. Based on the test section of Chengdu-Kunming railway, the in-situ tests of the reinforced retaining wall were carried out, and the corresponding design principle was proposed according to its structural characteristics. During the construction, sensors were installed in different parts of the retaining wall for long-term monitoring. The evolutions of vertical stress on basement, earth pressure on wall back, geogrid strain, settlements of basement and wall top, facing horizontal displacement during and after construction were analyzed. Two earthquakes occurred after the completion of the wall facing. The changes of the retaining wall before and after the earthquake were monitored, and the influence of the earthquakes on the structural behavior of the retaining wall was studied. The results show that: with the increase of filling, the vertical stress on basement and the earth pressure on wall back gradually change from linear distribution to nonlinear distribution. The shape of peak geogrid strain surface along the wall height is similar to the “0.3H (wall height) method” fracture surface. After the earthquake, the vertical stress of basement, settlements of basement and wall top, facing horizontal displacement increase, while the earth pressure on wall back and geogrid strain increase firstly and then decrease.

Key words: reinforced retaining wall, composite full-height rigid facing, structural behavior, earthquake