Drained , c = 0, > 0

Undrained , c > 0, = 0

Commonly, a minimum 28-day unconfined compressive strength of 21 MPa is specified
for the grout. FHWA pg 69

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
: Manual for Design & Construction
Monitoring of Soil Nail Walls

Results for inclination
In general, there is no need to check the degree of reduction in soil-nail capacity due to
the combined actions of tension, shear and bending. It is because for slightly inclined
soil nails, the reduction in soil-nail capacity due to such combined actions is
insignificant. In addition, due to the ductile behaviour of steel reinforcement and the
high redundancy of a soil-nailed cut slope, upon yielding of a soil nail, the extra load can
be redistributed to other soil nails. However, if the soil nails are steeply inclined, the
effectiveness of the soil nails in mobilising tensile forces will be reduced significantly.
In such cases, the soil-nail capacity of the soil nails should be assessed under the
combined actions of tension, shear and bending.

Threaded bars for typical soil nail wall applications are available in 19-, 22-, 25-, 29-,
32-, 36-, and 43-mm diameter (No. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 14 in English units) up to
approximately 18 m (59 ft) in length. Bars having diameters smaller than 25 mm (No. 8)
should not be used or used with great care in applications where long bars are required
(e.g., high walls) because they tend to bend excessively during handling and installation.
If needed, couplers can be used to extend the length of bars in excess of 18 m (59 ft);
however, soil nails in excess this length are typically not required for most highway
projects. FHWA 2 PG 68/305

Recommendations made concerning soil nail length and distribution.
Avoid the use of short nails in top portion of wall.
Avoid the use of too short nails in lower portion of wall. Evaluate if shorter nails in
bottom rows installed in competent ground satisfy sliding stability requirements.
Shorter
nails at the bottom should be not smaller than 0.5 H.
Non-uniform nail length patterns may be used if soil layers with very dissimilar
conditions are encountered. FHWA1 - PG 160

Pore Water Pressure
For a slope under steady state seepage, we may estimate the location of the phreatic
surface and obtain the pore water pressure for stability calculation. But often we have
pore water pressure measurements in the field, and we instead construct the
piezometric surface. This later is much easier to use. In that the pore water pressure
below a piezometric surface is simply the depth multiplied by the unit weight of water.
As a result, we also often approximate a phreatic surface to be a piezometric surface.
Pore pressures are also often defined by a pore pressure ratio, ru , which is defined as,
ru=u/z
where, u is the pore pressure at a point, and z is the total overburden pressure above that point.
Ru
The concept of average ru was found useful and sufficiently accurate in the examples
considered. Average ru values between 0.22 and 0.48 were obtained by Bishop and
Morgenstern for typical cases of earth dams and slopes including steady seepage, end of
construction and other field conditions. (The range in local values of ru was 0 to 0. 55 at
individual points of different slopes analysed).

GEOGUIDE PG 22
If the soil nails are aligned close to the direction of the maximum tensile strain of the
soil, the action in the soil nails is primarily tension, which is developed through the
mechanism of nail-ground friction. Shear stresses and bending moments are developed
in the soil nails through the mechanism of soil bearing stresses as well as the nail-
ground friction at the sides of soil nails. In a homogeneous and isotropic soil mass,
the mobilisation of shear stresses and bending moments of soil nails are small
under service load conditions (Jewell & Pedley, 1992). In contrast, if the soil nails are
aligned in the direction of compressive strain in the soil, compressive forces will be
developed in the soil nails. This can lead to a decrease in normal stresses in the soil on
the potential failure surface, which reduces the shearing resistance of the reinforced soil
mass. If the soil nails are aligned in the direction of zero axial strain, they will be subject
to shear and bending only. However, due to relatively slender dimensions of the soil
nails, these reinforcing contributions are limited by the small flexural strength, and they
are usually negligible (Jewell & Pedley, 1992; FHWA, 1998).

Soil nail construction procedure summary
Preparation work:
Erect and setup the working platform, Setup all necessary equipment, Fix the
centralisers and grout tube on the steel reinforcement.
Drilling process:
Use air wash drilling machine or coring machine to drill the hole for the soil nail (Hole
diameter approximate 100mm to 150mm)
Installation the soil nail:
Use pressure air wash to ensure the drilled hole is clear.
Install the soil nail steel reinforcement into drilled hole.
Grouting process:
Use grouting machine to mix the cement and water to a designed water/cement ratio.
Bleeding test must be carried out in this stage. Grouting the soil nail from bottom to top
with a suitable grout pressure.
Testing process:
Random proving tests must be carried out after 3 to 7 days of the grouting process to
prove the soil nail can withstand the acceptance load.


Failure surface which is parallel to the slope face is infinite slope.