Deformation and force analysis of reinforced soil bridge abutment under dynamic vehicle loading

The Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil-Integrated Bridge System (i.e. GRS-IBS) was developed to address the bumping issue from differential settlement at bridge abutments. This study focused on a Louisiana bridge abutment, using numerical simulation with the finite difference method to assess deformation and stress under dynamic loads. Results showed that deformation of the soil abutment and geogrid increased with the vehicle weight, with a more pronounced effect on lateral displacement than settlement. Settlement values initially decreased then rose with speeds between 30–60 km/h, mirroring the trend in lateral displacement and geogrid deformation. The lateral displacement of the geogrid was roughly half that of the panel. Shear stress on the abutment at 5 tons was double that at 1.75 tons, and geogrid stress was triple. Analysis indicated that a vehicle speed of around 45 km/h had the least impact on the reinforced soil abutment. The findings offer valuable insights for the use and maintenance of reinforced earth bridge abutments.