The effect of preloading on mechanically stabilised earth (MSE) has remained an aspect difficult to quantify in design, particularly when considering different reinforcement types, stiffness values, and facing rigidity. This study analyses several scaled model tests on MSE walls under a strip footing load with a single unloading-reloading cycle. Scaled models were constructed as part of this investigation to expand the evaluation of previously constructed full-scale tests. The strip footing load and wall deflections were measured and compared with analytical models. The failure mechanism of the soil, before and after the strip footing load, was included in the study via the particle image velocimetry (PIV) method. The results indicate that the bearing capacity of a strip footing is higher for a rigid facing than for a flexible facing. PIV analysis results for the first and second loading step formed two failure lines with the angle (π/4 + φ/2). The deflection values in the second loading step, however, were smaller than those reached during the first loading in small-scale tests. Good agreement was observed between the proposed analytical method and experimental results for the second loading step, after taking into account the preloading effect.

中文翻译：

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条形基础荷载下小尺度模型 MSE 墙的相互作用机制

预加载对机械稳定土 (MSE) 的影响仍然是设计中难以量化的一个方面，尤其是在考虑不同的钢筋类型、刚度值和面刚度时。本研究分析了在单次卸载-重新加载循环的条形基础载荷下 MSE 墙壁上的几个比例模型测试。作为本次调查的一部分，构建了比例模型，以扩展对先前构建的全尺寸测试的评估。测量了条形基​​础载荷和墙体挠度，并与分析模型进行了比较。通过粒子图像测速 (PIV) 方法研究了在条形基础载荷之前和之后土壤的破坏机制。结果表明，刚性饰面的条形基础承载力高于柔性饰面。π /4 +  φ /2）。然而，第二个加载步骤中的挠度值小于小规模试验中第一次加载时达到的值。考虑到预加载效应后，所提出的分析方法与第二个加载步骤的实验结果之间观察到了良好的一致性。