Evaluation of Deformation Characteristic of Railway Subgrade Using Reinforced Rigid Walls with Short Reinforcement under Repetitive and Static Loads

A full-scale reinforced subgrade for railways (RSR) was constructed, and repetitive and static load tests were performed to analyze the deformation characteristics of reinforced rigid walls with short reinforcements for railway subgrades that require strict displacement restrictions. Load test results were obtained for four sections, in which the reinforcement arrangement (vertical spacing and length) and wall-reinforcement connection method were applied differently, and the behavior of the reinforced rigid wall was observed according to each parameter. A repetitive load of 500 kPa and a static load of 1000 kPa were applied to the outside of the reinforcement area to evaluate the behavior of the subgrade when utilizing short reinforcement. The test results confirmed the reduction of the settlement and horizontal displacement of the wall, owing to the restraining effect of the short reinforcement and rigid wall. In addition, it was observed that the greater the applied load, the greater the influence of the reinforcement on the behavior of the subgrade; this pattern was more marked in loads above the yield of soil.