Soil nail wall construction is a technique used to bring soil stability in areas where landslides might be a problem. Soil nail can prevent landslides by inserting steel reinforcement bars into the soil and anchoring them to the soil strata. It is called Soil Nail because it’s like having a nail being hammered into the soil, where the nails, are the steel bars.
Soil Nail Wall Applications
The process of soil nail wall construction has some areas in which is recommended and could provide great benefits, especially when no other option is available. One of the most important things about the soil nail construction process is that you start at the top and as you dig, the wall is extended on a per lift or depth basis. It is a great option for:
Temporary excavation shoring
Permanent site retaining walls
Slope stabilization
Tunnel portals
Roadway cuts
Under existing bridge abutments
Tunnel portals
Repair and reconstruction of existing retaining structures
The shearing strength and tensile strength of soil body can almost ignored, but it exists certain structural integrity. After installing soil nail with certain length and density,soil nail and soil body can work together. It can cover the shortage of soil body’s strength and form composite soil.
Soil nail has the main functions in composite soil.
1. Constraint force.
It depends on stiffness, strength and spacial combination form of anchor bolt in soil.Soil nail has the function of constraining the deformation of soil body and makes composite soil become a whole.
2. Bearing capacity.
In composite soil,soil nail and soil body bear external load and gravity stress together. After soil body reaching plastic state, stress transfers to soil nail gradually, Soil nail’s bearing capacity is more prominent because of high shearing strength. The proportion of anchor bolt’s bearing capacity depends on stiffness ratio of soil nail and soil body, soil nail’s spatial location and composite soil’s stress level.
3. Transmission and diffusion of stress.
Under the same load condition, strain level in soil nail parts is lower than plain soil slope, which postpones the formation and development of cracking zones.
4. Constraint force of slope deformation.
Steel fabric sprayed concrete panel is settled on slope with soil nail, which restricts excavation unloading and swelling deformation and then strengthens constraint force to boundary.