A series of shaking table tests were carried out to explore the dynamic characteristics and working mechanisms of wrapped-face reinforced soil-retaining walls under strong vibration. Under the 0.1–1.0 g horizontal peak ground acceleration (HPGA), the damping ratio of sand shows a downward trend as a whole, so the acceleration amplification coefficient decreases with the increase of HPGA. However, when HPGA reaches 1.0 g, the acceleration amplification coefficient increases; the range of acceleration amplification coefficient at the top of the wall is 1.69–1.36. When HPGA is 1.0 g, the maximum cumulative residual displacement of the panel is 2.96% H, and the maximum uneven settlement of the sand is 3.57% H, both of which have exceeded the limit of the specification. With the increase of HPGA, the ratio of the dynamic earth force increment to the total dynamic earth force gradually approaches 50%. Since the reinforcement effect of geogrid is not considered, the predicted value of traditional earth pressure theory is different from the measured value. According to the Washington State Department of Transportation displacement index, the deformation range of wrapped-face reinforced soil-retaining walls is divided into three stages: the quasi-elastic stage, the plastic stage, and the failure stage.

This study presents experimental results from shaking table tests on a reduced‐scale geogrid reinforced soil retaining wall (RSRW) to investigate the seismic response of the fundamental frequency, acceleration amplification, face displacement, backfill surface settlement, and reinforcement strain under different peak accelerations and durations. The fundamental frequency is in good agreement with the predicted values. The root mean square (RMS) acceleration amplification factors increase nonlinearly with the wall height and decrease with increasing seismic load, which is not regarded as a constant value. The distributions of the peak displacement are consistent with those of the residual displacement. The combination of the sliding and rotation is observed as the predominant mode of displacement, and the rotation mode is dominant. The positions near the face (35 cm) and the ends of the reinforcement (140 cm) demonstrated larger settlement than that of the central position (70 cm and 105 cm). The reinforcement strain increased with increasing peak acceleration and maximum values measured at the central layers. The trends of the potential failure surface are similar to those of the 0.3H bilinear failure surface. The friction coefficient is nonlinearly distributed along with the reinforcements, and the maximum friction coefficient appears at the top layer (F11).

The interaction between reinforcement and soil is a key problem in the application of geosynthetics as reinforcement in geotechnical engineering. In this study, tensile and pull-out tests on a uniaxial geogrid were carried out using self-designed tensile and pull-out test equipment. The tensile test evaluated the tensile load–strain characteristics of a geogrid. Under the condition of lateral confinement, the tensile force and secant tensile stiffness of the geogrid increased with an increase in the normal stress when the strain was constant, and the secant tensile stiffness decreased with a decrease in the tensile rate. The stiffness coefficient was used to quantitatively describe the change in the stiffness of the reinforcement. Using the pull-out test, the variation laws of the pull-out force of the geogrid under different normal stresses and different longitudinal rib percentages were obtained. When the geogrid was broken, the pull-out force of the same type of geogrid was not significantly different under different normal stresses. With an increase in the longitudinal rib percentage, the pull-out force of the geogrid under the same normal stress gradually increased, and the apparent friction coefficient was obtained by analysis. The results of the apparent friction coefficient obtained by the analytical method in accordance with French specifications (NF P94-270-2020) are relatively safe compared to the experimental values.

A series of shaking table tests was carried out on the dynamic performance and working mechanism of a gabion reinforced soil retaining wall under seismic load. The test results show that the panel presents the deformation mode of middle and upper bulging at the contact point between the rigid box and the retaining wall The settlement of top backfill is relatively uniform, and there is basically no differential settlement, the natural frequencies at different positions and heights inside the retaining wall are basically the same, and the natural frequencies are stable between 22.61 and 23.04 Hz below 0.8 g. The damping ratio decreases with the increase in wall height, and the damping ratio at each stage after vibration is greater than that before vibration. The seismic earth pressure is nonlinearly distributed. The measured value of the lower part of the retaining wall is smaller than that calculated by the Seed–Whitman method with an increase in peak acceleration, and the measured value of the upper part of the retaining wall is larger than the theoretical calculation results. The position of the resultant action point of seismic earth pressure is greater than 0.33 times the wall height specified by the Mononobe–Okabe method.

Major earthquakes and rainfall may occur at the same time, necessitating further investigation into the dynamic characteristics and responses of reinforced soil retaining walls subjected to the combined forces of rainfall and seismic activity. Three sets of shaking table tests on model retaining walls were designed, a modular reinforced earth retaining wall was utilized as the subject of this study, and a custom-made device was made to simulate rainfall conditions of varying intensities. These tests monitored the rainwater infiltration pattern, macroscopic phenomena, panel displacement, tension behavior, dynamic characteristics, and acceleration response of the modular reinforced earth retaining wall during vibration under different rainfall intensities. The results indicated the following. (1) Rainwater infiltration can be categorized into three stages: rapid rise, rapid decline, and slow decline to stability. The duration for infiltration to reach stability increases with greater rainfall. (2) An increase in rainfall intensity enhances the seismic stability of the retaining wall panel, as higher rainfall intensity results in reduced sand leakage from the panel, thereby diminishing panel deformation during vibration. (3) Increased rainfall intensity decreases the shear strength of the soil, leading to a greater load on the reinforcement. (4) The natural vibration frequencies of the three groups of retaining walls decreased by 0.21%, 0.54%, and 2.326%, respectively, indicating some internal damage within the retaining walls, although the degree of damage was not severe. Additionally, the peak displacement of the panel increased by 0.91 mm, 0.63 mm, and 0.61 mm, respectively. (5) The amplification effect of rainfall on internal soil acceleration is diminished, with this weakening effect becoming more pronounced as rainfall intensity increases. These research findings can provide a valuable reference for multi-disaster risk assessments of modular reinforced soil retaining walls.