Design and Construction of MSE Tall Walls for

the Seattle Tacoma Airport 3rd Runway Project

John Sankey, Reinforced Earth Company, USA

ISSMGE, Technical Committee 17

Working Group F
Earth Reinforcement in Fill
September 24, 2007
 Overview of Tall Wall Applications

¾ Considerations
– Cost
– Appearance
– Subsurface Investigations
– Stability
– Bearing Capacity
– Deformations
 Cost Comparison Among Retaining
Wall Systems
REINFORCED CONCRETE
RETAINING WALL
560

REINFORCED CONCRETE
CRIB WALL
PER SQUARE METER OF FACE

460
COST OF WALL IN DOLLARS

360
METAL CRIB WALL

260
METALLIC REINFORCED
SOIL WALL

160
GEOSYNTHETIC
REINFORCED WALL RAINIER AVE.

60
3 6 9 12 15

HEIGHT OF WALL IN METERS

AFTER FHWA DEMO ’82
MANUAL, 1995
Isometric View of Typical Reinforced Earth Wall
Typical Section of a Reinforced Earth Structure
Reinforcing Strip

Existing
Front Ground
Face Line
of
Wall
Limits of Excavation

Unreinforced Concrete Leveling Pad

 Appearance

Single Face Tiers

 Subsurface Investigations

¾ Test borings or cone penetration tests in MSE

wall footprint
– Locations, spacing and depths based on wall height,
i.e., wall height of 20 meters approaches 380 kPa
bearing pressure
¾ Insitu and laboratory testing to assess soil
strength and consolidation characteristics
 Stability Evaluation

¾ Internal
¾ External
¾ Composite
– Critical for Tall Structures – Usually Controls
 Lines of Maximum Tension

From FHWA Demo ‘82

 Foundation Bearing Pressure
Distribution

MEYERHOF BEARING PRESSURE EQUATION

V σV = ΣV e = Σ MC
L - 2e ΣV
σV = BEARING PRESSURE
P
ΣV = SUM OF VERTICAL LOADS

L = REINFORCING STRIP LENGTH

= ECCENTRICITY OF STRUCTURE
e DUE TO APPLIED LOADS

Σ MC = SUM OF MOMENTS ABOUT

CENTER LINE DUE TO
L - 2e 2e APPLIED LOADS
 Cumulative Vertical Displacements –
End of Stage Construction (FLAC Analysis)

After HartCrowser, 2002

Bearing Pad Compression
Bearing pads
0.500

Deflection (in)
0.450

0.400

0.350

0.300
¾” pad
0.250

0.200

0.150

0.100

0.050
Applied load (psi)
0.000
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Case Study – SeaTac 3rd Runway
 Site Location

*SeaTac Airport
 SeaTac Walls

Perimeter Rd 200 m2

154th Street 2,600 m2

North Wall (26 m Height – 2 6,300 m2

Tiers)

West Wall (46 m Height – 4 12,100 m2

Tiers)

South Wall 3,200 m2

Total 24,400 m2
Extensive Geotechnical Investigations
 SeaTac Wall Design

¾ Upper panels at 140 mm thick

¾ Lower panels at 178 mm thick
¾ Maximum number strips in standard
cruciform panel – 20
¾ Maximum reinforcing strip length at
35 m
¾ 2 bearing pads (20 mm) per panel in
upper wall to 4 bearing pads per
panel in lower wall (25 mm) –
discuss placement
Numerical Modelling
 Instrumentation Planning

• Strain Gages
• Stress Cells
• Inclinometers
• Panel Survey Points
• Piezometers
• Durability Samples
• Seismic Sensors
(removed)
 Construction Timeline
¾ Project Award Delayed (2002 to 2004) for
Public Hearings & Additional Environmental
Studies
¾ Expedited Production of Forms, Liners,
Panels, Soil Reinforcing Strips, etc.
¾ First Walls Completed -2006
¾ Over 3,600,000 kg of Steel Produced So Far
¾ Additional Walls Underway in 2007 with 2
Added to Original Walls
Soil Reinforcing Strips

Ribbed Steel Reinforcing Strips

6 mm Thick x 50 mm Wide
Maximum Length 35 meters
Architectural Treatment

250 Individual Liner Types (Most Only Used Once)

 Instrumentation Results
¾ West Wall
– Inclinometer: 10 to 74 mm lateral movement
– Survey Points: 0 to 86 mm deflection and maximum 155 mm settlement
– Piezometer: 610 mm head gain
– Strain Gages/Stress Cells: Less than predicted FLAC values
– Bearing Pad Compression: 12% to 53%

¾ North Wall
– Inclinometer: 5 to 30 mm lateral movement
– Survey Points: 0 to 23 mm deflection and maximum 46 mm settlement
– Piezometer: No head gain
– Strain Gages/Stress Cells: Less than predicted FLAC values
Project Success