A new concept of precast concrete retaining wall: from laboratory model to the in-situ tests

A new concept for the soil nail walls is here proposed and validated through experimental and numerical approaches. This process, based on the use of precast elements that are easier to install, is cheaper and more aesthetic than the classical methods, but the main advantage is reducing the cement consumption which conducts to divided carbon footprint by three. In order to characterize the structural capacity of this new process, this article present an investigation on two in-situ representative walls, one in shotcrete which is the old way of construction, and the other, consisting the precast reinforced concrete slabs, which is the new process. We thus have a demonstrator on a real scale, and perfectly representative, since the constructive modes, as well as the mechanical, thermal, and hydric loadings are the real ones associated with the environment in situ. Substantial instrumentation has been realized over a long period (nearly 2 years), enabling to follow the evolution of the displacements of each wall and the efforts in the anchor nails. To determine the bearing capacity of the constituent element of the precast nail wall, an experimental study coupled with a numerical simulation has been conducted in the laboratory on a single precast slab. This study allows the evaluation of the load associated to crack initiation and the bearing capacity associated to the ultimate state, at the scale of the constituent elements. Finally, in order to evaluate the behaviour of the two concepts of nail walls in the case of extreme solicitation, a dynamic loading induced by an explosion has been conducted on the site.