Show
Slide Model > Support > Define Support Properties
Soil Nail
The Soil Nail support type can be used to model soil nail slope reinforcement. Note:
A Soil Nail is assumed to be fully bonded along its entire length
The Soil Nail support type in Slide is equivalent to Grouted Tieback support with Bond Length
= 100%
The Soil Nail support type in Slide is differentiated from the Grouted Tieback for user
convenience. However, the user should be aware that, as far as the Slide implementation is
concerned, a Grouted Tieback with Bond Length = 100% would behave exactly the same as a
Soil Nail, all other parameters being equal.
A Soil Nail is NOT equivalent to the Grouted Tieback with Friction support type in Slide.
Soil Nails can also be used to model pile or micropile support by using the optional Shear or
Compression options as described below.
NOTE: make sure that you have read the Overview of Support Implementation topic, for important
information which applies to all support models in Slide.
Tensile Capacity
The Tensile Capacity entered for a Soil Nail, represents the maximum tensile capacity of an
individual soil nail. This is the capacity of the soil nail itself (e.g. steel tensile capacity),
independent of the plate capacity or the bond capacity. Units are Force.
Plate Capacity
The Plate Capacity is the maximum load which can be sustained by the plate assembly which
connects the soil nail to the slope. Units are Force.
Shear Capacity
The Shear Capacity is optional, and allows you to account for shear failure through the bolt cross-
section (i.e. the force required to shear the bolt perpendicular to its axis). Units are Force. See
below for implementation details.
Compression Capacity
The Compression Capacity is optional, and allows you to account for failure of the bolt in
compression. This can be useful for modeling compression piles, for example. Units are Force. See
below for implementation details.
Out of Plane Spacing
The spacing between soil nails in the out-of-plane direction (i.e. along the slope).
Force Application
For Soil Nail support, the default method of Force Application = Passive, since there is normally
no initial loading or tensioning of a soil nail. See the Force Application topic for a discussion of the
significance of Active and Passive support force application in Slide.
Force Orientation
For Soil Nail support, the orientation of the applied force is PARALLEL to the orientation of the soil
nail, unless you are using the Shear Capacity option, in which case the force may be applied at
some angle to the bolt axis, corresponding to the resultant of the shear and tensile components
(see below for details).
Pullout Strength
For a Soil Nail, the Pullout Strength is expressed as a Force per unit Length. NOTE that the length
units in this case, refer to the length along the soil nail. The Bond Strength determines the pullout
and / or stripping force which can be generated by a soil nail.
Material Dependent Pullout Strength
See the Grouted Tieback topic for details, as the procedure is the same.
Implementation of Soil Nail Support in Slide
Consider a soil nail which intersects a slip surface, as shown below.
Li = length of soil nail within sliding mass
Lo = length of soil nail embedded beyond slip surface
Soil Nail Parameters
B = Bond Strength (force / unit length of soil nail)
S = Out of Plane Spacing
T = Tensile Capacity (force)
P = Plate Capacity (force)
At any point along the length of the soil nail, there are 3 possible failure modes which are
considered:
1. Pullout (force required to pull the length Lo of the nail out of the slope)
2. Tensile Failure (maximum axial capacity of the soil nail)
3. Stripping (slope failure occurs, but nail remains embedded in slope)
The maximum force which can be mobilized by each failure mode, PER UNIT WIDTH OF SLOPE, is
given by the following equations:
Pullout: Eqn.1
Tensile: Eqn.2
Stripping: Eqn.3
At any point along the length of a soil nail, the force which is applied to the slip surface by the soil
nail, is given by the MINIMUM of these three forces.
Applied Force = min (F1, F2, F3) Eqn.4
NOTE:
in order for stripping to occur, the Plate Capacity must be exceeded. The Plate Capacity is
included in the stripping force equation, and added to the shear capacity along the length Li.
if the Soil Nail Pullout Strength is specified as Material Dependent, then the Pullout Force and
Stripping force, are determined by integrating along the lengths Lo and Li, to determine the
force contributed by each segment of the soil nail which passes through different materials.
A typical Soil Nail Force diagram, which exhibits all three failure modes, is shown below. In this
case, the Plate Capacity is less than the Tensile Capacity, and therefore "stripping" is a possible
failure mode. If the Plate Capacity is greater than or equal to the Tensile Capacity, then stripping
cannot occur, and the Soil Nail Force diagram will be determined only by the Tensile and Pullout
failure modes.
Soil Nail Force Diagram
Implementation of Shear Capacity
If the Shear Capacity option is selected, an additional force vector perpendicular to the bolt
direction, and opposite to the direction of failure, is added to the overall bolt capacity vector,
determined by the methods described above. You’ll see this in the Interpreter when you show the
slice data. The support force at the base of the slice is no longer parallel to the support but angled
in a direction opposite to the slip direction. The Shear Capacity option may be useful if you expect
that the support forces are not purely tensile, but may include a transverse shear component as
well. This depends on the orientation of the support relative to the slip surface direction.
Illustration of Shear Capacity option for support
Implementation of Compression Capacity
If the Compression Capacity option is selected, the bolt can apply a stabilizing force to the slope
when it goes into compression. This can be useful for modeling compression piles, for example. To
determine when a bolt goes into compression, the program looks at the direction of displacement at
the point where the bolt crosses the failure surface. The direction of displacement is equal to the
direction of the base of the slice through which the bolt traverses, as shown in the figure below. If
the dot product of vector u and v is positive, the bolt is in compression.
Illustration of Compression Capacity option for support
If the bolt goes into compression, the capacity is determined in the same way as a bolt in tension,
with the following two differences. The first is the compression capacity is substituted for the tensile
capacity. The second is that the plate capacity is assumed to be zero. Three modes of failure are
still examined to determine the overall capacity. The first is compression failure of the tendon. The
second is bond failure of the bolt outside the failed mass. The third is bond failure of the bolt
internally to the failed mass. The overall capacity is simply the minimum of these three failure
modes, as described above for the tensile failure mode.
