Retaining & slopes · Reinforced soil & gabions
Reinforced soil wall (geogrid) calculator
External sliding, overturning and bearing, plus reinforcement tension and pull-out at every layer.
Standard: AS 4678 concepts · external & internal (tie-back wedge)
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Inputs in the worked example
The live calculator starts with these values; change any of them and every result, check and diagram updates instantly.
| Input | Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Wall height H | 6 | m |
| Reinforcement length L | 4.2 | m |
| Vertical spacing Sv | 0.6 | m |
| Reinforced fill γ | 20 | kN/m³ |
| Reinforced fill φ′ | 34 | ° |
| Retained soil γ | 19 | kN/m³ |
| Retained soil φ′ | 30 | ° |
| Foundation φ′ | 30 | ° |
| Surcharge q | 10 | kPa |
| Grid design strength (long-term, factored) | 30 | kN/m |
| Interaction coefficient Ci | 0.8 | |
| Allowable bearing | 300 | kPa |
Worked example — results
| Result | Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Ka reinforced / retained | 0.283 / 0.333 | |
| Sliding FS | 2.35 | |
| Overturning FS | 3.98 | |
| Eccentricity e (limit L/6 = 0.70) | 0.53 | m |
| Meyerhof bearing pressure | 174 | kPa |
| Min tension FS (LTDS/T) | 1.43 | |
| Min pull-out FS | 7.44 | |
| Layers | 10 |
- ✓ Sliding FS ≥ 1.5
- ✓ Overturning FS ≥ 2
- ✓ e ≤ L/6
- ✓ Bearing ≤ allowable
- ✓ Tension FS ≥ 1.0 (LTDS already factored)
- ✓ Pull-out FS ≥ 1.5
Method, formulas and assumptions
- Retained thrust Pa = ½KaγH² + KaqH acting on the back of the reinforced block
- Sliding: (W + qL)tanφ / (Pa + Pq); overturning about the toe
- Meyerhof: q = V/(L − 2e)
- Internal: T = Kar·σv·Sv; resisting length beyond the Rankine plane Le = L − (H − z)tan(45 − φ/2); pull-out = 2·Le·σv·tanφ·Ci
- AS 4678 uses partial factors on materials and loads: this FS-based check is preliminary
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For preliminary design and education. Check every result against the current standard and your own engineering judgement before use.