Optimization of soil-nailed wall design using SLOPE/W software

Abstract

Optimization of soil-nailed wall design can be done with adjustment on parameters and the construction elements during the design analysis. As there are many criteria in soil nailing design that could be optimized, this paper focused on three main parameters: length, inclination, and spacing of the soil nail. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the three parameters optimization reanalyses and their cost difference from the original design. The data were collected from a project in Selangor area and were reanalysed using the Morgenstern-Price Method analysis from a Limit Equilibrium software (SLOPE/W). The optimization re-analysis was evaluated with the change of the Factor of Safety (FOS) value for all cases. Results showed that reducing the soil nail length will reduce the FOS, reducing the soil nail inclination will increase the FOS, and reducing the soil nail spacing will increase the FOS. It was also known that the cost reduces from 18% to 53% in the reanalysis which showed that optimization design should be considered in all consultant firms and can be used by the clients as verification for future soil-nailed wall design.