GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING CIRCULAR NO. 11 Design of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls and Reinforced Soil Slopes – Volume I

This manual is the reference text used for the FHWA NHI courses No. 132042 and 132043 on Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls and Reinforced Soil Slopes and reflects current practice for the design, construction and monitoring of these structures. This manual was prepared to enable the engineer to identify and evaluate potential applications of MSE walls and RSS as an alternative to other construction methods and as a means to solve construction problems. The scope is sufficiently broad to be of value for specifications specialists, construction and contracting personnel responsible for construction inspection, development of material specifications and contracting methods. With the aid of this text, the engineer should be able to properly select, design, specify, monitor and contract for the construction of MSE walls and RSS embankments.
The MSE wall design within this manual is based upon Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) procedures. This manual is a revision (to LRFD) and an update to the FHWA NHI- 00-043 manual (which was based upon allowable stress design (ASD) procedures).

This manual is the reference text used for the FHWA NHI courses No. 132042 and 132043 on Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls and Reinforced Soil Slopes and reflects current practice for the design, construction and monitoring of these structures. This manual was prepared to enable the engineer to identify and evaluate potential applications of MSE walls and RSS as an alternative to other construction methods and as a means to solve construction problems. The scope is sufficiently broad to be of value for specifications specialists, construction and contracting personnel responsible for construction inspection, development of material specifications and contracting methods. With the aid of this text, the engineer should be able to properly select, design, specify, monitor and contract for the construction of MSE walls and RSS embankments.
The MSE wall design within this manual is based upon Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) procedures. This manual is a revision (to LRFD) and an update to the FHWA NHI- 00-043 manual (which was based upon allowable stress design (ASD) procedures).

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING CIRCULAR NO. 7 Soil Nail Walls

This document presents information on the analysis, design, and construction of soil nail walls in highway applications. The main objective is to provide practitioners in this field with sound and simple methods and guidelines that will allow them to analyze, design, and construct safe and economical structures. This document updates information contained in FHWA-SA-96-069R (Byrne et al., 1998). The focus is on soil nailing techniques that are commonly used in the U.S. practice. The contents of this document include: an introduction, a chapter on applications and feasibility, descriptions and guidelines for field and laboratory testing in soil nailing applications, descriptions of the common U.S. practice, analysis and design of soil nail walls, chapters on contracting approach and technical specifications and design examples. Because of the popularity of the Allowable Stress Design (ASD) method [also known as Service Load Design (SLD)] among practitioners, the methods presented in this document are based on the ASD method.

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING CIRCULAR NO. 6 Shallow Foundations

This document is FHWA’s primary reference of recommended design and procurement procedures for shallow foundations. The Circular presents state-of-the-practice guidance on the design of shallow foundation support of highway bridges. The information is intended to be practical in nature, and to especially encourage the cost-effective use of shallow foundations bearing on structural fills. To the greatest extent possible, the document coalesces the research, development and application of shallow foundation support for transportation structures over the last several decades. Detailed design examples are provided for shallow foundations in several bridge support applications according to both Service Load Design (Appendix B) and Load and Resistance Factor Design (Appendix C) methodologies. Guidance is also provided for shallow foundation applications for minor structures and buildings associated with transportation projects.

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING CIRCULAR NO. 5 Evaluation of Soil and Rock Properties

Abstract This document presents state-of-the-practice information on the evaluation of soil and rock properties for geotechnical design applications. This document addresses the entire range of materials potentially encountered in highway engineering practice, from soft clay to intact rock and variations of materials that fall between these two extremes. Information is presented on parameters measured, evaluation of data quality, and interpretation of properties for conventional soil and rock laboratory testing, as well as in situ devices such as field vane testing, cone penetration testing, dilatometer, pressuremeter, and borehole jack. This document provides the design engineer with information that can be used to develop a rationale for accepting or rejecting data and for resolving inconsistencies between data provided by different laboratories and field tests.
This document also includes information on: (1) the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Personal Data Assistance devices for the collection and interpretation of subsurface information; (2) quantitative measures for evaluating disturbance of laboratory soil samples; and (3) the use of measurements from geophysical testing techniques to obtain information on the modulus of soil. Also included are chapters on evaluating properties of special soil materials (e.g., loess, cemented sands, peats and organic soils, etc.) and the use of statistical information in evaluating anomalous data and obtaining design values for soil and rock properties. An appendix of three detailed soil and rock property selection examples is provided which illustrate the application of the methods described in the document.