Numerical Analysis of Locally Available Recycled Waste Material-Filled Geocell Retaining Wall

Geocells are gradually utilized globally in urban and rural development projects due to their flexibility, three-dimensional (3D) confinement, and load dispersion advantages in meeting global transportation demands. On the other hand, conventional retaining wall structures used in the transportation sector exhibit serious risk from the viewpoint of varying environmental loadings. Pragmatically, artificial fiber-based geocells filled with soil aggregate mixture have recently been found to be used as alternative flexible retaining structure solutions. The state-of-the-art review indicates that limited studies were performed on such geocell-based retaining structures and require considerable attention in this direction, which may offer a sustainable as well as economical, and environment-friendly solution. The local and reusable waste materials were overlooked with geosynthetic solutions due to their lesser strength and being highly degradable during the time of application. A natural fiber-made geocell can be a good choice as a retaining wall material for low-height gentle slope structures that need a rigorous comparison study with synthetic geocell application. It can be achieved by exploring gradual loading conditions that arise in highway embankments. The numerical analysis helps to detect the failure mechanism of retaining structures supporting the backfill by considering possible uncertainties. In the present study, local river sand with red soil and recycled asphalt pavement with construction-demolished aggregates in different ratios (25, 50, 75%) were explored as geocell infill material with coir fiber-based geocells using shape optimization. The versatility of geocell retaining walls makes it a beneficial choice for growing urban and rural transportation sectors, considering material degradation, geometry effect, and loading uncertainties.