Experimental and Numerical Analysis of the Dynamic Behaviour of a Gabion Wall

Gabion-faced retaining walls are increasingly adopted in earthquake-prone regions, such as the Indian Himalayas, owing to their simple construction, effective drainage and inherent flexibility. Evaluating their behaviour under dynamic loading conditions is essential for ensuring stability and safety. In this study, gabion wall models are tested on shake table, and subsequently, numerical simulations are performed in PLAXIS-2D (2023). The scaled models are excited using sinusoidal base motions with varying accelerations (0.05, 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2 g) for frequencies in the 1–10 Hz range. The dynamic response of the gabion walls is evaluated by examining the percentage displacement and the acceleration amplification factors at various heights. Several interesting features were revealed through the experiments, which make gabion walls fundamentally different from other retaining structures. As gabion units are tied together, there is some amount of independent movement of each cell. Furthermore, the redistribution of gravel within the basket during loading significantly influences the wall’s response. When this behaviour is appropriately captured in the numerical model, it matches well with the experimental data. Damping, which is obtained from the experiments, too plays a significant role in the numerical simulations. The numerical simulations align well with experimental results only when these factors are thoroughly considered in the modelling process.