Vertical and horizontal loading tests on full-scale preloaded and prestressed geogrid-reinforced soil structures

The performance of a preloaded and prestressed (PLPS) geogrid-reinforced soil pier constructed for a railway was evaluated by vertical loading tests performed after a service period of about 3.5 years. The performance was compared with those at the preloading stage during construction as well as during service. The test results confirmed that the high performance of the pier (i.e., very small transient deformation during train passing and substantially small residual deformation by long-term traffic load during service) can be attributed to the preloading and prestressing procedure. Horizontal loading tests were performed simultaneously on the top RC blocks on the preloaded-prestressed pier and the geogrid-reinforced soil abutment, which was constructed without the PLPS procedure for the same bridge. The results showed that the pier was substantially more stable against over-turning moment and horizontal shear load than the abutment, indicating that the PLPS procedure is also very effective to achieve a high seismic stability.