Short for mechanically stabilized earth, it builds a reinforced block of soil that holds itself up, with a facing of modular blocks, precast panels or wrapped fabric to keep the face from raveling. Geogrid layers are spaced up the wall and extend back at least 70 percent of the wall height, and never less than 8 feet. Drainage behind and under the reinforced zone matters as much as the reinforcement.
MSE wall is 18 feet with grid every two blocks, and the drain stone goes in behind the face as we go.
Most wall failures trace back to water, not grid: missing drains, poor surface drainage and wet backfill.
Also heard as
- MSE
- reinforced soil wall
Related terms
Reinforcement
Using the tensile strength of a geosynthetic to hold soil together so it can stand steeper or carry more load.
Uniaxial geogrid
Geogrid with its strength concentrated in one direction, used to reinforce walls and steep slopes.
Wrap-around facing
Wall or slope face formed by folding each geotextile or geogrid layer up the face and back into the fill above.
Lift
One layer of fill placed and compacted at a time, the unit by which walls, slopes and embankments are built.
RSS
Reinforced soil slope: an embankment built steeper than its fill could stand alone by layering geogrid or geotextile in it.