MANUAL FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION MONITORING OF SOIL NAIL WALLS (REVISED EDITION)

This revised version of SA-96-069 incorporates primarily clarification and format changes received in the project workshops. However, the basic design and construction procedures are unchanged from the original. The long-term performance of soil nail walls has been proven after 20 years of use in Europe and the United States. The purpose of this manual is to facilitate the implementation of soil nailing into the American transportation design and construction practice and to provide guidance for selecting, designing, and specifying soil nailing where it is technically suited and economically attractive. A comprehensive review of current design and construction methods has been made and the results compiled into a guideline procedure. The intent of presenting the guideline procedure is to ensure that agencies adopting soil nail wall design and construction follow a safe, rational procedure from site investigation through construction. This manual is practitioner oriented and includes: descriptions of soil nailing concept and applications; summary of experimental programs and monitoring of in-service walls; recommended methods of site investigation and testing; recommended design procedures for both Service Load Design (SLD) and Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD); worked design examples; simplified design charts for the preliminary design of cut slope walls; wall performance monitoring recommendations; discussion on practice and quality control of shotcrete application in soil nailing; discussion of contracting procedures and guidance on the preparation of soil nail design and construction; presentation of procedures for determining the structural capacity of nail head connectors and wall facings, including demonstration calculations. This manual is intended to be used by civil engineers who are knowledgeable about soil mechanics and structural engineering fundamentals and have an understanding of the principles of soil-reinforcement technology and earthwork construction.