ASCE Hawaii Section - January 2025 Dinner Meeting

Program: Migrating from the Simplified Method to the Stiffness Method for internal stability design of MSE walls

Speaker: Professor Richard Bathurst, GeoEngineering Centre at Queen’s-RMC, Kingston, Canada

Abstract:

The 2020 edition of the authoritative AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications in the USA has adopted the “Stiffness Method” for the internal stability design of geosynthetic mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls. The differences between the legacy Simplified Method (which appears in earlier editions of the AASHTO code) and the Stiffness Method are explained in the lecture. The Stiffness Method approach represents a paradigm shift on how reinforcement loads are calculated for internal stability design of MSE walls under operational conditions. The Stiffness Method, as the name implies, includes the tensile stiffness of the reinforcement as a key parameter determining the loads developed in reinforcement layers under operational conditions. The Simplified Method is a strength-based approach which cannot distinguish between reinforcement materials falling within the same classification. The Stiffness Method has the additional benefit of being seamless across relatively extensible (geosynthetic reinforcement materials) and relatively inextensible materials (steel grids and steel strips). The lecture describes the key features of the Stiffness Method and how the method was calibrated. Practical impacts on design outcomes using the Simplified Method and Stiffness Method approaches are identified.

Time:

• 5:30 PM Social Hour
• 6:30 PM Dinner
• 7:00 PM Program

Menu: Multi-Entrée Buffet. Drinks other than water are not included.

Cost:

• $50.00 for ASCE Hawaii Section Members
• $60.00 for Non-ASCE Hawaii Section Members and Guests
• $25.00 for University of Hawaii at Manoa Student Chapter Members

If paying by check, please make payable to "ASCE Hawaii Section" and send to: PO Box 917, Honolulu, Hawaii 96808.

If you have any questions, please contact Amanda Waki Phone: (808) 944-1821 E-mail: [email protected].

Host or Publisher ASCE Hawaii Section