Snail User Guide

Division of Engineering Services / Geotechnical Services

California Department of Transportation

August 2018
Sacramento, California

Email: [email protected]

© 2014 California Department of Transportation

Snail User Guide August 2018

Table of Contents

1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1
2 How to Use Snail ....................................................................................................... 2
File ........................................................................................................................ 2
Settings ................................................................................................................ 2
Input ..................................................................................................................... 3
Project Information .......................................................................................... 3
Geometry ........................................................................................................ 3
Layout ........................................................................................................ 3
Reference point .................................................................................... 3
Wall Dimensions ................................................................................... 4
Ground Surface ......................................................................................... 4
Soil Layers ................................................................................................. 5
Ground Water ............................................................................................ 7
Soil Nails ......................................................................................................... 8
Dimensions and Properties ........................................................................ 8
Facing Resistance ................................................................................... 10
Allowable Stress Design (ASD) .......................................................... 10
Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) ...................................... 11
Soil Properties ............................................................................................... 12
Loads ............................................................................................................ 13
Seismic ................................................................................................... 13
External .................................................................................................. 13
Surcharges ............................................................................................. 13
Factors of Safety – for ASD........................................................................... 15
Load and Resistance Factors – for LRFD ..................................................... 16
Load Factors ............................................................................................ 16
Soil Nail Tensile Force (FHWA GEC No. 7 2015) .............................. 16
Loads and Soil Weight........................................................................ 17
Resistance Factors .................................................................................. 17
Search Options ............................................................................................. 18

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Search Limits ........................................................................................... 18

Below Toe Search (BTS) ......................................................................... 19
Advanced Search Options ....................................................................... 21
Action ................................................................................................................. 23
Facing ................................................................................................................. 26
Facing Analysis ............................................................................................. 26
Analysis ................................................................................................... 26
Soil Nails .................................................................................................. 27
Facing ...................................................................................................... 27
Bearing Plates ......................................................................................... 28
Studs........................................................................................................ 30
ASD Factors of Safety ............................................................................. 31
LRFD Resistance Factors ........................................................................ 32
Results ..................................................................................................... 33
Suggested Facing Design ............................................................................. 34
Design Details.......................................................................................... 34
Facing Resistances ................................................................................. 34
Create Report .......................................................................................... 35
Transfer Data ........................................................................................... 35
View.................................................................................................................... 37
Help .................................................................................................................... 37
3 Theory...................................................................................................................... 38
Derivation ........................................................................................................... 38
Passive Resistance ............................................................................................ 42
Calculation of FoS .............................................................................................. 43
Factored Soil Nail Resistance............................................................................. 44
Multiple Layer Scenario ...................................................................................... 46
4 Technical Notes ....................................................................................................... 47
Carrying out the Intent of Design in Construction ............................................... 47
Options for Parametric Studies ........................................................................... 47
Service Load at Soil Nail Head (To) .................................................................... 47
Design Communication ...................................................................................... 47
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Service Load at Soil Nail Head (To) ≠

Geotechnical Factored Facing Resistance (Ffactored Geotechnical),
Ffactored Geotechnical = Ffactored Structure = Ffactored .......................................................... 48
Search for the Required Minimum Factored Facing Resistances by the
Geotechnical Designer ....................................................................................... 49
Nominal Bond Strength and Nominal Pullout Resistance ................................... 51
Pullout Control vs. Soil Nail Bar Yield Control .................................................... 53
Use LRFD Method for Soil Nails ......................................................................... 54
Corrosion Protection of Soil Nails ....................................................................... 55
Nominal Strength ................................................................................................ 56
Nominal Strength and Pullout Resistance of Soil Nails ...................................... 57
Improvement in Interpreting Nominal Strength from Subsurface Exploration ..... 57
5 Acknowledgement.................................................................................................... 59

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Snail User Guide August 2018

1 Introduction

Snail is geotechnical engineering software developed and maintained by Geotechnical

Services, Division of Engineering Services, California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans). This software was developed to assist users in performing stability analyses of soil
nail walls and analyses of structural facing of soil nail walls. Snail replaces the previous
version, SnailzWin. The first version of Snail was first developed and maintained by Caltrans
circa 1989. The software runs under the Windows 7, 8 and 10 operating systems.

The previous versions of the software have been validated by:

• WA-RD 371.1 Evaluation of Design Methodologies for Soil-Nailed Walls (7/1998)

• FHWA-IF-99-026 Design & Construction Monitoring of Soil Nail Walls (Demonstration
Project 103) (12/1999)
• FHWA0-IF-03-017 Soil Nail Walls (Geotechnical Engineering Circular No. 7) (3/2003)

Snail performs stability analysis of a soil nail wall based on force limit equilibrium. For both
geotechnical soil nails and structural facing analysis, Snail follows the procedure presented in
Soil Nail Walls Reference Manual, FHWA-NHI-14-007, FHWA GEC 007, February 2015
(GEC No. 7 2015).

Snail includes the following main features:

• Options of using Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD, GEC No. 7 2015 approach)
or Allowable Stress Design (ASD) for both geotechnical soil nails and structural facing
analysis and design
• Performs soil nails analysis using bi-linear or tri-linear search surfaces
• Performs structural facing analysis with or without soil nails analysis
• Presents the controlling modes in soil nails analysis
• Graphically presents the calculated most critical search surface or any user selected
search surface, and corresponding factors of safety (FoS) or capacity demand ratios
(CDR)
• Allows parametric study of inter-slice force inclination
• Allows both U.S customary and metric units
• Provides graphic and text outputs

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2 How to Use Snail

Snail has seven main menus: File, Settings, Input, Facing, Action, View, and Help (Figure
1). The Action menu is available only after geometry or reinforcement information is entered.

Figure 1 Snail Menus and Toolbars

File

The File menu includes standard file handling functions usually found in Windows-based
programs: New, Open, Save, Save As, Save as Image File, Print, and Exit.

Settings

The Settings menu allows users to select

• Analysis method: allowable stress design (ASD) or load and resistance factor design
(LRFD); and
• Units: English or SI.

When analysis method ASD is selected, the icon for the entry of factors of safety for ASD
will appear in the toolbar. When the analysis method LRFD is selected, the icon for the entry
of load and resistance factors for LRFD will appear in the toolbar.

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Input

The Input menu is for entering information required for soil nail wall analyses. The Input
menu has six submenus: Project Information, Geometry, Soil Nails, Soil Properties,
Loads, Factors of Safety or Load and Resistance Factors, and Search Options.

Project Information

Figure 2 Project Information

Project information is the input screen to enter project name or description, location,
expenditure authorization (EA) number, project ID, wall number, structure number, station,
the user’s name, and function (Figure 2). The Comments field can be used for project and
site descriptions.

Geometry

Geometry includes four tabs: Layout, Ground Surface, Soil Layers, and Ground Water
(Figure 3).

 Layout

Snail uses the combination of an origin point, reference point, wall height, and facing
angle or batter to establish the wall geometry. The origin point can be any point as
defined by the user.

The reference point must be at one of two locations, at the top of the wall or the toe of
the wall, as shown on Figure 6. Assign the coordinates of the reference point, either
the toe or top of the wall, based on the horizontal distance (x) and the vertical distance
(y) from the origin point.

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 Reference point

• At: Set the reference point at either the Top of Wall or

the Toe of Wall (Figure 6).
• Distance from Origin: Enter x-coordinate of the reference point
• Elevation above Origin: Enter y-coordinate of the reference point

 Wall Dimensions

• Wall Height: Enter the wall height

• Facing Angle: Enter the wall inclination in degrees, measured from
the horizontal axis with counter-clockwise direction
as positive (Figure 6), or
• Facing Batter: Enter the horizontal “x” value for the wall facing
Batter of x:12 (H:V) .(The angle is automatically
calculated based on the ratio of the horizontal
distance and the vertical distance.)

Figure 3 Geometry - Layout

Based on the reference point coordinates, either the top-of-wall or toe-of-wall

coordinates will be determined by the wall height and facing angle or facing batter. If
the facing angle is entered, the facing batter will be automatically calculated and
shown on the input screen or vice versa.

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 Ground Surface

• Number of lines that define the ground surface above the wall:
Use up to nineteen line segments

• Angle: Enter the inclination angle (from horizontal) of each line segment with the
above horizontal line direction as positive for the ground surface above the
wall and in front of the toe (Figure 6).

• Distance: Enter the length of each line (Figure 6)

The number of inputs for Angle and Distance (Figure 4) must match the value entered
for Number of lines that define the ground surface above the wall. The first ground
surface line starts from the top of wall; the second line starts from the end point of the
first line etc. From the entered angle and length for each line, the x and y coordinates
of the points connecting the lines will be calculated and the surface lines will be shown
on the graphic screen (Figure 6). The Distance for the last entry is internally calculated
and projected to the limits of the model by the software.

Figure 4 Geometry - Ground Surface

If a below toe search (with Perform below Toe Search of Search Options selected) is
to be performed, enter the Number of lines that define the ground surface in front of
the toe. The first ground surface line in front of the wall starts from the toe of the wall,
the second line starts from the end point of the first line and continues until the last
line.

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 Soil Layers

• Number of Layers: Select number of layers – up to 7

• Distance: Enter x-coordinate of Point 1 and Point 2 of the top of each layer
• Elevation: Enter y-coordinate of Point 1 and Point 2 of the top of each layer

Figure 5 Geometry - Soil Layers

Enter the top of each soil layer (Figure 5), starting from the top of the second layer, as
the top of first layer has been defined by the ground surface. Enter coordinates of
Point 1 and Point 2 that form a straight line that defines the top of each soil layer
(Figure 6). The location of these points must be below the defined ground surface
lines, behind the wall face, and inside the wall model area. To ensure the points are
behind the wall, placing the points at a discernible distance behind the wall face.

The lines and their projection must not intersect each other within the model
boundaries. Snail will calculate the coordinates of the points where the lines intersect
the wall face and model boundaries based on the inclination projection of the defined
straight lines.

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Figure 6 Geometry - Graphical Presentation of Input Variables

 Ground Water

• Include Ground Water: Check the box (Figure 7) when ground water is considered
in the analysis
• Number of Points: Select the number of points that define the ground water
surface – up to 18
• Distance: Enter the x-coordinate of each point
• Elevation: Enter the y-coordinate of each point

The number of inputs for Distance and Elevation must match the value selected in the
Number of Points. Ensure the ground water line is below the ground surface. The
ground water table will project horizontally outward from the first and last points
(Figure 6).

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• Phreatic Correction: Check the box to apply phreatic surface correction

Figure 7 Geometry - Ground Water

For a ground water system under hydrostatic condition, the pore-water pressures may
be calculated by multiplying the vertical distance between the ground water surface
and the slice base mid-point (Hw) and the unit weight of water (γw).

𝑝𝑝𝑤𝑤 = 𝐻𝐻𝑤𝑤 × 𝛾𝛾𝑤𝑤

However, when there is a sloping ground water condition (Figure 8), using the vertical
distance to calculate pore-water pressures will result in a higher pore-water pressure
than necessary. To take into account the sloping piezometric profile for more accurate
calculation of pore-water pressure, the user can apply the phreatic surface correction.

Figure 8 Phreatic Surface Correction

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𝐻𝐻𝑐𝑐 = 𝐻𝐻𝑤𝑤 × cos2 (𝛼𝛼)

𝑝𝑝𝑤𝑤 = 𝐻𝐻𝑐𝑐 × 𝛾𝛾𝑤𝑤

For sloping ground water conditions, the calculation without phreatic surface correction
yields a lower factor of safety than when phreatic correction is applied and is erring on
the conservative side.

If there are ground water issues for the wall, a soil nail wall may not be a good option.

Soil Nails

Soil Nails has two tabs: Dimensions and Properties (Figures 9, 10, and 11), and Facing
Resistance (Figure 12).

 Dimensions and Properties

• Diameter of Drilled Holes: Enter drilled-hole diameter (typical practice uses 6 or

8 inches)
• Horizontal Spacing: Enter center to center horizontal distance between
nails
• Maximum Vertical Spacing: Enter maximum vertical spacing between nails – for
To calculation (refer to Section 4 – Tensile Force at
Soil Nail Head (To))
• Number of Soil Nail Rows: Select the number of soil nail rows – up to 30
• Soil Nail Design Parameters: Select either Uniform throughout Cross-Section or
Varying

For Soil Nail Design Parameters, when the Uniform throughout Cross-Section option is
selected enter the following fields (Figure 9):

• Soil Nail Length: Enter soil nail length

• Inclination From Horizontal: Enter the inclination angle of soil nails measured
from the horizontal axis with clockwise direction as
positive (Figure 10) – typically 10 to 15 degrees
• Vertical Distance from Top of Wall to First Row:
Enter the vertical distance from top-of-wall to the first
row of soil nails
• Vertical Spacing: Enter the center-to-center vertical spacing between
soil nail rows
• Nail Bar Diameter: Enter soil nail bar diameter
• Nail Bar Yield Strength: Enter soil nail bar yield strength

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Figure 9 Soil Nails – Uniform Throughout Cross Section Option

Figure 10 Soil Nails - Graphical Presentation of Input Variable

When the Varying option is selected for Soil Nail Design Parameters, the lower portion
of the window will turn into a table for entry of the parameters for each soil nail row
(Figure 11).

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In the table, the entries for vertical spacing is the vertical spacing above the
corresponding soil nail row. For the first soil nail row, the vertical spacing entry is the
vertical distance from top of wall to the first soil nail row.

In the table, the entries for bond strength factor, with defaulted value of “1”, can be
used to account for variation of construction methods and scenarios for different soil
nail rows, such as localized variations of soil condition in a soil layer.

Figure 11 Soil Nails - Varying Option

 Facing Resistance

Snail offers analyses of both Allowable Stress Design (ASD) and Load and Resistance
Factor Design (LRFD), and for three scenarios: Temporary, Permanent, and Seismic.
Each scenario requires its own set of facing resistance factors for corresponding
analysis (Figures 12 and 13).

 Allowable Stress Design (ASD)

• ASD Allowable Facing Resistance:

Enter the ASD allowable facing resistance for the
three scenarios or select Facing Design Tool
• Facing Analysis: Click the button to have Snail perform facing
analysis and calculate the factored facing
resistances and automatically transfer the calculated
factored facing resistance parameters to the
corresponding fields above

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• Suggested Facing Design: Click the button to select one of the suggested
facing designs and automatically transfer the
factored facing resistances of the selected facing
design to the corresponding fields above

The ASD Allowable Facing Resistance can be entered by the user, calculated by
Facing Analysis, or obtained from Selected Facing Design features in Snail and
automatically transferred to the corresponding fields for soil nail wall analysis. Facing
Analysis and Suggested Facing Design, as activated by clicking the respective buttons
(Figure 12), are stand-alone structural facing analyses tools. The required input
parameters for facing design and analysis are described in the Facing Analysis
section.

ASD allowable facing resistances are factored strength values that accounts for
uncertainties associated with structural facing design and facing strength properties.

Figure 12 Facing Resistance Tab in Soil Nails Menu – ASD

 Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD)

For LRFD analysis, enter LRFD factored facing resistance for each of the three
scenarios: Temporary, Permanent, and Seismic (Figure 13). LRFD factored facing
resistances are factored strength values that accounts for uncertainties associated
with structural facing design and facing strength properties.

The LRFD factored facing resistances can be entered by the user, calculated by
Facing Analysis, or obtained from Selected Facing Design features in Snail and
automatically transferred to the corresponding fields for soil nail wall analysis.

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Figure 13 Facing Resistance Tab in Soil Nails Menu – LRFD

Soil properties

The number of sets of soil properties inputs (Figure 14) must match the Number of Layers
selected in Soil Layers tab in Geometry menu.

• Description: Enter the description for each soil layer

• Unit Weight: Enter the unit weight for each soil layer
• Friction Angle: Enter the friction angle for each soil layer
• Cohesion: Enter the cohesion for each soil layer
• Nominal Bond Strength: Enter nominal bond strength for each soil layer

Figure 14 Soil Properties

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Loads

Snail offers three different load options: Seismic, External and Surcharge (Figures 15 and
16).

 Seismic

• Horizontal Seismic Coefficient:

Enter the horizontal seismic coefficient. The
horizontal seismic coefficient must be provided if
seismic analysis is to be performed. The effect of
vertical seismic force on a wall is typically negligible
and is not considered.

 External

• Apply External Load: Check the box when there is an external load onto
the wall face.
• Load: Enter the external load
• Angle: Enter the inclination angle of external load direction
measured from the horizontal axis with counter-
clockwise direction as positive. (Figure 16).

Note: The location of the external load on the wall face is not needed because the
analysis is performed using force equilibrium method.

 Surcharges

• Apply Surcharges: Check the box when there are distributed loads on
the ground above the wall
• Number of Surcharges: Select a value – up to 2
• Distance from Top of Wall: Enter the distances of begin point and end point of
each distributed load from top of wall
• Load: Enter the distributed loads at begin point and end
point of each distributed load

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Figure 15 Loads

Figure 16 Applied Loads - Graphical Presentation of the Input

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Factors of Safety – for ASD

Enter Factors of Safety for the Temporary, Permanent, and Seismic scenarios. Each
scenario requires its own set of factors of safety for corresponding analysis (Figure
17).

• Pullout (Distal): Enter the factors of safety to be applied to the pullout capacity
of soil nail grout / soil interface at the distal section of the soil
nails.
• Pullout (Proximal): Enter the factors of safety to be applied to the pullout capacity
of soil nail grout / soil interface at the proximal section of the
soil nails.
• Nail Bar Yield: Enter the factors of safety to be applied to soil nail bar yield

Note: The introduction of separate resistance factors for distal

and proximal pullout capacities is for future implementation to
take into account the difference in the reliability of the
estimated pullout capacities.

The estimated pullout capacity at the section near the soil nail
tip (distal) should be more reliable, as it will be verified and
proved by pullout test during construction. Therefore, the
resistance factors applied to the distal pullout capacity may be
greater than those applied to the proximal pullout capacity.
To assign different pullout resistance factors for proximal and
distal sections, a more rigorous pullout test regime during
construction should be implemented.

For recommended factors of safety, please refer to Table 5.1, GEC No. 7 2015. As
explained above, the confidence on the estimated pullout capacities depend on the
rigorousness of pullout test during design and specified during construction. Factors of
safety values other than those recommended by GEC No. 7 2015 may be considered
if rigorous pullout test regime has been carried out during design or to be performed
during construction as specified.

Figure 17 Factors of Safety

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Load and Resistance Factors – for LRFD

Load and Resistance Factors includes two tabs: Load Factors (Figure 18) and
Resistance Factors (Figure 19).

 Load Factors

Snail offers two options to apply load factors:

• Apply to Soil Nail Tensile Force (FHWA GEC No. 7 2015); or

• Apply to Loads and Soil Weight.

 Soil Nail Tensile Force (FHWA GEC No. 7 2015)

Enter the load factors to be applied to the soil nail tensile force – recommended
option.

Note: The default load factors for Soil Nail Tensile Force are derived from the “EV:
Vertical earth pressure (ret. walls and abutments)” row of Table 5.3, GEC No. 7
2015. The combination of these default load factors (ϕ) and the default resistance
factors (γ) applied to soil nail pullout capacities, soil nail bar yield, and facing
capacity will arrive at the factors of safety (FoS) for the respective components that
are compatible with the FoS used in the ASD method.

These load factors on soil nail tensile force are virtual load factors implemented as
an interim solution before there is a decision on load factors for soil mass and
external loads.

Figure 18a Load Factors – Applied to Soil Nail Tensile Force

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Loads and Soil Weight

When this option is selected, Snail can be used to implement LRFD design of soil
nail walls. However, policy decision is needed before using this option for actual
design work. In the meantime, this option can be used to perform parametric
studies.

• Active Soil Mass Load: Enter the load factor for weight of soil mass in active
zone
• Passive Soil Mass Load: Enter the load factor for weight of soil mass in
passive zone in front of the toe. This value will only be
used when Perform below Toe Search in Search Option is
checked; and should be ≤1.0 since this load is a stabilizing
force in the soil nail stability analysis.
• Surcharge Load 1: Enter the load factor for Surcharge Load 1
• Surcharge Load 2: Enter the load factor for Surcharge Load 2
• External Load: Enter the load factor for the External Load. If the load
against the slope or wall face acts as a stabilizing force to
the slope or wall, the value should be ≤ 1.0.

Please refer to Section 4 Technical Note Use LRFD Method for Soil Nails for further
discussion of the load factors on soil nail tensile force, soil mass, and external loads.

Figure 18b Load Factors – Applied to Loads and Soil Weight

 Resistance Factors

• Pullout (Distal): Enter the resistance factors for the pullout capacity of soil
nail grout / soil interface at the distal section of the soil nails

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• Pullout (Proximal): Enter the resistance factors for the pullout capacity of soil
nail grout / soil interface at the proximal section of the soil
nails
• Nail Bar Yield: Enter the resistance factors for the soil nail bar yield
• Friction Angle: Enter the resistance factor for friction angle
• Cohesion: Enter the resistance factor for cohesion
• Friction Angle: Enter the resistance factor for friction angle

Note: The introduction of separate resistance factors for distal and proximal pullout
capacities is for future implementation to take into account the difference in the
reliability of the estimated pullout capacities.

The estimated pullout capacity at the section near the soil nail tip (distal) should be
more reliable, as it will be verified and proved by pullout test during construction.
Therefore, the resistance factors applied to the distal pullout capacity may be
greater than those applied to the proximal pullout capacity.

To assign different pullout resistance factors for proximal and distal sections, a
more rigorous pullout test regime during construction should be implemented.

For recommended resistance factors, please refer to Table 6.3, GEC No. 7 2015.

Figure 19 Resistance Factors

Search Options

 Search Limits

• Begin: Enter the horizontal distance between the top of wall and the begin point
of the search (Figures 20 and 21)

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• End: Enter the horizontal distance between the top of wall and the end point of
the search

Figure 20 Search Options

The distance between the Begin and End points of search limits will be equally divided
into 10 segments to generate eleven search Nodes. From each of these search
Nodes, 55 bi-linear search surfaces will be generated with a matrix of 55 Grid Points
(Figure 22) to search for the surface with the minimum factor of safety (FoS) or
capacity demand ratio (CDR) for each search Node. The minimum factors of safety or
capacity demand ratio for each search Node are presented in the Snail text output file.

Snail also allows users to view the calculated factor of safety or capacity demand ratio
and geometry of any search surface by selecting the corresponding search Node and
Grid Point. This option is described in View Details in Action Menu.

 Below Toe Search (BTS)

When the Perform Below Toe Search option is selected, Number of BTS Point, BTS
Depth and Interface Friction Reduction Factor are available for entry. Search points for
below the toe search will be generated according to the Number of BTS Points and
BTS Depth.

• Perform Below Toe Search: Check the box to search for the minimum factor of
safety of surfaces that pass through below the toe of
wall (Figure 21)
• Number of BTS Points: Select the number of search points – up to 5
• BTS Depth: Enter vertical extent of the search from the toe of
wall – should be less than the wall height

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• Interface Friction Reduction Factor:

Enter the reduction factor for the interface friction
mobilized by friction angle at the vertical interface
between active zone and passive zone – should be
0 ≤ value ≤ 1.0

The use of Interface Friction Reduction Factor is to reduce shear resistance at the
interface between active and passive sliding wedges. This value is a multiplier to the
mobilized shear resistance along the interface contributed by the friction angle. Enter
“1.0” to assume a fully mobilized shear resistance from friction angle. The default
value is set to 0.33 to be consistent with the previous versions of the software.

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Figure 21 Entries for Below the Toe Search

Figure 22 Nodes, Grid Points, and Bi-linear Search Surface

 Advanced Search Options

Snail also includes advanced search options that allow users to perform parametric
studies of the effects of inter-slice force inclination angle on the analysis results.

Figure 23 Advanced Search Options

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• Use Advanced Search Options: Check the box to allow the user to change the
inter-slice force inclination angles from default
values
• Inclination of Inter-slice Force: Select Use Input Value, Use Mobilized Friction
Angle, or Use Average Failure Angle.

If Use Input Value is selected, a field will appear under the selection for the user to
enter the value of the user-defined inclination angle. If Use Mobilized Friction Angle is
selected, average mobilized friction angles (average friction angle/FoS) along vertical
interfaces of slices will be the inter-slice force inclination angle. If Use average Failure
Angle is selected, the average of base angles of the active wedges of each search
surface will be the inter-slice force inclination angle.

In the default setting, without checking the box for Use Advanced Search Options,
inter-slice forces consist of both the shear force and inclined force components. The
shear force component is from the mobilized cohesion (average cohesion/FoS); while
the inclined force component is acting at the direction equal to the average mobilized
friction angles (average friction angle/FoS).

The inclined force component in the default setting is the same as the inclined force
component applied in the Use Mobilized Friction Angle in Advance Search Options.
However, the Use Mobilized Friction Angle in Advance Search Options does not
account for the mobilized cohesion.

Action

The Action menu has two options before performing the analysis: Select Analysis Scenario
and Run; and three options after the analysis: View Details, Create Report, and Clear
Results.

• Select Analysis Scenario: Select an analysis scenario – temporary, permanent, or

seismic
• Run: Click to run the selected analysis scenario
• View Details: Click to view details of calculated results
• Create Report: Click to create and view the report. Then, the user can
save or print the report. Clear Results: Click to clear
calculated result, so that the Run function in Snail can be
available again

After running an analysis, Snail will display the calculated minimum Factor of Safety (FoS) or
Capacity Demand Ratio (CDR), the check of entered Factored Facing Resistance (Ffactored)
vs. the calculated Service Load at Soil Nail Head (To), and corresponding graph (Figures 24a,
24b, and 25). Please refer to Technical Notes for the background of checking Ffactored vs. To.

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Figure 24a Results – ASD

Figure 24b Results – LRFD

Details of any search surface can be examined by selecting View Details. A 2-pane window
will open as shown in Figure 25.

The left pane includes a table showing the calculated factors of safety for all the search
surfaces. Above the table are three pull-down lists, Node, Grid Point, and BTS Point that
allow users to select and view the calculated factor of safety, and geometry of any search
surface on the right pane. To view a particular search surface, select the values available in
the pull-down lists.

Node is the Node number, between 1 and 11, to be selected to view the search surface
passing through the search Node. Node 1 is the begin point; and Node 11 is the end point of
the search limits.

For each selected Node, 55 Grid Points and associated calculated factor of safety and the
search surface corresponding to the selected Grid Point are shown graphically on the right
pane (Figures 25 and 27).

BTS Point can be selected to view a search surface passing below the toe. When BTS is not
performed, the value shown on the window is set to “0”. When BTS is performed with the “N”
BTS Points, select a value between 0 and N with “0” representing the search surfaces

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passing through the toe, and “N” representing the search surface passing through the lowest
extent of the BTS.

Tables of unsorted and sorted calculated factor of safety are available for viewing by
selecting among the corresponding tabs.

Figure 25 View Details

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Figure 26 View Details Left Pane – Table Presentation

Figure 27 View Results Right Pane – Graphical Presentation

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Facing

The Facing menu includes two options: Facing Analysis and Suggested Facing Design. The
factored facing resistance calculated by Facing Analysis or by the Suggested Facing Design
can be automatically transferred to the factored facing resistance entry for soil nail analysis.

Snail implements the facing analysis and design procedure presented in Soil Nail Walls
Reference Manual, FHWA-NHI-14-007, FHWA GEC 007, February 2015. Users are advised
to have GEC No. 7 2015 available while using this module. This Guide provides the section
and table numbers of the subject matter described in GEC No. 7 2015 after each of the
following entry descriptions.

Facing Analysis

Facing Analysis can be used as a stand-alone module. Snail calculates factored facing
resistances for the three scenarios: Temporary, Permanent and Seismic using entered
design parameters (Figure 28). The results can be saved to the active input file and re-loaded
for soil nail stability analysis.

The required entries for Facing Analysis are organized into seven tabs. The Results tab
shows the results and allow the user to transfer the results for analysis of soil nails.

Figure 28 Facing Analysis – Analysis

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 Analysis

• Temporary Shoring Only: Check the box if the facing is for temporary
shoring only; Snail will turn off the entry fields for
permanent facing design values.
• Check Bearing Plate Capacity: Check the box if bearing plate design details
were available and needed to be checked. Snail
will turn on 5 additional fields under Bearing
Plate tab, and 4 additional fields under ASD
Factors of Safety or LRFD Resistance Factors
tab for entry of bearing plate design details and
perform the analysis. This option is mostly for
checking shop drawings, as bearing plate design
details are mostly not available during design,
and mostly determined and provided by the
contractor in shop drawing.
• Easy Start: Easy Start offers users a convenient way to
quickly start manipulating and fine-tuning
structural facing design parameters for analysis.
After clicking the Easy Start button, the user can
select one of the seven designs in Suggested
Facing Design (Figures 40 and 41). The values
for the selected design will be pre-populated to
all the Facing Analysis fields; and the user can
then fine-tune these values before performing
facing analysis.

 Soil Nails

• Horizontal Spacing: Horizontal spacing of soil nails

• Vertical Spacing: Vertical spacing of soil nails

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Figure 29 Facing Analysis – Soil Nails

 Facing

• Facing Thickness (Temporary): h as shown in Figure 31

• Facing Thickness (Permanent): H as shown in Figure 35

Figure 30 Facing Analysis – Facing

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•Vertical and Horizontal Reinforcement Area:

Reinforcement cross sectional area per unit
width in the vertical/horizontal direction – for
welded wire mesh, obtained by dividing the
wire cross-sectional area by the mesh
opening size (Tables A.5 and A.6, GEC No. 7
2015)
• No. of Vertical and Horizontal Waler Bar:
The number of vertical and horizontal waler
bars
• Waler Bar Area: The cross sectional area of waler bar
assuming the same size bar is used both
horizontally and vertically as shown in Figure
26 (Table A.6, GEC No. 7 2015)
• Concrete Yield Strength: Concrete yield strength
• Reinforcement Yield Strength: Reinforcement yield strength
• Punching Correction Factor: Factor to account for soil pressure distribution
behind the facing (Section 6.6.6, GEC No. 7
2015)
• Flexural Correction Factor: Factor to account for soil pressure distribution
behind the facing (Table 6.5 and Section
6.6.5b, GEC No. 7 2015)
 Bearing Plates

• Width/Height: LBP as shown in Figure 31

• Thickness: tP as shown in Figure 31

DC
D’C Waler Bar (Typ)
Conical Failure L BP
Surface 45° (Typ) Shear Resistance RF/2

tp

h
h/2

Idealized Soil Reaction

T0
DDH

Figure 31 Temporary Bearing Plate Connection

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Figure 32 Facing Analysis – Bearing Plates

Additional 5 fields are available for entry if Check Bearing Plate Capacity box under
Analysis tab is checked

• Bearing Plate Hole Diameter: DB as shown in Figure 33

• Wedge Washer Diameter: Dw as shown in Figure 33
• Concrete Hole Diameter: DConcrete as shown in Figure 33 (may also be soil nail
sheathing diameter)
• Bearing Plate Yield Strength: Bearing Plate Yield Strength
• Bearing Plate Tensile Strength: Bearing Plate Tensile Strength

L BP
DW
DB
P

tp

DConcrete
Figure 33 Bearing Plate Details (mostly from Shop Drawing)

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 Studs

Figure 34 Facing Analysis – Studs

• Number of Studs: Typically 4 (Table A.7, GEC No. 7 2015)

• Stud Head Diameter: DH as shown in Figure 36 (Table A.7, GEC No. 7 2015)
• Head Thickness: tH as shown in Figure 36 (Table A.7, GEC No. 7 2015)
• Head-Stud Length: LS as shown in Figure 36 (Table A.7, GEC No. 7 2015)
• Stud Shaft Diameter: DS as shown in Figure 36 (Table A.7, GEC No. 7 2015)
• Stud Spacing: SHS as shown in Figure 35 (Table A.7, GEC No. 7 2015)
• Stud Tensile Strength: Stud tensile strength

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DC
D’C
Composite Conical Failure
SHS Shear Resistance RF/2
Surface 45° (Typ)

H
LS h DH
tp C
tH

h
h/2

LS
DS

Idealized Soil Reaction

T0
DDH

Figure 35 Permanent Head-Studded Connection Figure 36 Head Stud

 ASD Factors of Safety

Figure 37 Facing Analysis – ASD Factors of Safety

• Flexural: The factors of safety to account for uncertainties

associated with design and strength properties
• Punching: The factors of safety to account for uncertainties
associated with design and strength properties

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• Stud Tensile: The factors of safety to account for uncertainties

associated with design and strength properties

Additional 4 fields are available for entry if “Check Bearing Plate Capacity” box under
Analysis tab was checked

• Tensile Stress: The factors of safety to account for uncertainties

associated with design and strength properties
• Flexure: The factors of safety to account for uncertainties
associated with design and strength properties
• Bearing Stress of Steel The factors of safety to account for uncertainties
associated with design and strength properties
• Bearing Stress of Concrete/Shotcrete:
The factors of safety to account for uncertainties
associated with design and strength properties

 LRFD Resistance Factors

Figure 38 Facing Analysis – LRFD Resistance Factors

• Flexural: The reduction factor to account for uncertainties

associated with design and strength properties
• Punching: The reduction factor to account for uncertainties
associated with design and strength properties
• Stud Tensile: The reduction factor to account for uncertainties
associated with design and strength properties

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Snail User Guide August 2018

Additional 4 fields are available for entry if Check Bearing Plate Capacity box under
Analysis tab was checked

• Tensile Stress: The reduction factor to account for uncertainties

associated with design and strength properties
• Flexure: The reduction factor to account for uncertainties
associated with design and strength properties
• Bearing Stress of Steel The reduction factor to account for uncertainties
associated with design and strength properties
• Bearing Stress of Concrete/Shotcrete:
The reduction factor to account for uncertainties
associated with design and strength properties
 Results

• Allowable or Factored Resistance:

For Temporary, Permanent, and Seismic scenarios
(Figure 39)
• Capacity Ratio: Display the capacity ratio (normalized by control mode
capacity). The presentation of the capacity ratio shows
which design modes are over capacity and by how
much. The design mode with capacity ratio equals to
one is the controlling mode for the respective analysis
scenario.
• Allowable or Factored Bearing Plate Resistance:
Display factored bearing plate resistances
• Create Report: Click to create and view the report. Then, the user can
save or print the report.
• Clear Results: Click to clear calculated result, so that the Run function
in Snail can be available again
• Transfer Results: Click the button to transfer the controlling allowable or
factored facing resistances of respective scenario to the
Soil Nail input form as input for soil nail stability analysis

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Figure 39 Facing Analysis – Results

Suggested Facing Design

Figure 40 Suggested Facing Design Template – Design Details

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Suggested Facing Design allows users to select from typical facing design developed by
Caltrans (Figures 40 and 41). The users can select a facing design from the Facing Design
Template and click on the Transfer Data button. Then, the Allowable Facing Resistances (for
ASD) or the Factored Facing Resistances (for LRFD) of the design for temporary, permanent
and seismic scenarios are automatically transferred to the Soil Nails input form as input for
soil nail stability analysis.

There are two tabs in Suggested Facing Design – Design Details and Facing Resistances.

 Design Details

Design Details shows the detailed configuration of each typical facing design.

 Facing Resistances

Facing Resistances (Figure 41) includes two parts – the Facing Resistances Table,
and the Factors of Safety or Reduction Factors.

• Facing Resistances Table:

Display both Nominal Facing Resistances and ASD Allowable Facing

Resistances or LRFD Factored Facing Resistances. The ASD Allowable Facing
Resistances or LRFD Factored Facing Resistances are calculated based on the
Nominal Facing Resistances and values entered into the Resistance Factors
fields.

• Factors of Safety / Resistance Factors:

Default values of ASD Factors of Safety and LRFD Resistance Factors are
prepopulated. These default values are the recommended values from Table
5.1 and Table 6.3, GEC No. 7 2015.

Snail allows users to adjust these values for special design cases. When the
values were adjusted from the default values, the values under ASD Allowable
Facing Resistances or LRFD Factored Facing Resistances will be automatically
updated. Meanwhile, the background of the adjusted fields will turn light yellow
and Snail will prompt the notice of “Not a Default Value”. Users may click on the
“Reset to Default Values” button to reset the values to the default values.

 Create Report

Click the Create Report button to create and view the report for the selected facing
design. Then, the user can save or print the report.

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 Transfer Data

Click the Transfer Data button to transfer the allowable facing resistances or factored
facing resistances to the Soil Nails input form as input for soil nail stability analysis.

Figure 41 Suggested Facing Design Template – Facing Resistances

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View

The View menu has twelve options for viewing the created wall model and to toggle on or off
the toolbar and status bar.

The View menu options are:

• Measure From: Select Origin, Top of Wall, or Toe of Wall to change the
coordinate reference of the model view
• Magnification: Select the magnification of the view
• Zoom In: Click to zoom in
• Zoom Out: Click to zoom out
• Fit: Click to fit the whole model into view
• Show/Hide Input Values: Click to show/hide input values
• Show/Hide Search Limit: Click to show/hide search limit
• Show/Hide Scale: Click to show/hide scale
• Show/Hide Gridlines: Click to show/hide grid
• Toolbar Button Size: Select Large or Small button size – Small button size is
recommended for using Snail in a laptop computer
• Hide/Show Toolbar: Click to toggle Toolbar on/off
• Hide/Show Status Bar: Click to toggle Status Bar on/off

Help

The Help Menu includes Snail Home Page, Snail User Guide, and About.

• Snail Home Page: Click to open the Snail home page via hyperlink.
• Snail User Guide: Click to open this User Guide on line via hyperlink. The file can be
navigated using the bookmarks created for the file. The user
should check this hyperlink for the latest revision of the User
Guide.
• About: Click to see the Snail version, Legal Notice, and copyright
information

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3 Theory

Snail analyzes soil nail wall system stability based on force limit equilibrium. The software
generates bi-linear surfaces through the toe of wall, or tri-linear surfaces which pass below
the toe and daylight in front of the wall, to calculate and search for the minimum factor of
safety of the selected analysis scenario. Even though Snail can perform stability analysis for
“deep-seated” failure modes using a tri-linear wedge search, it is not suitable for global slope
stability analysis. Global stability of soil nail walls should be analyzed using slope stability
software.

For ease of discussion and presentation, the term factored resistances used in this section
refers to the resistances that have been factored, i.e. divided by the FoS (for ASD), or
multiplied by the resistance factor, ϕ (for LRFD).

Derivation

𝐶𝐶1 ×𝐿𝐿1 +(𝑁𝑁1 −𝑢𝑢1 )×tan(𝜙𝜙)

𝑆𝑆𝑚𝑚1 =
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑆𝑆1

𝐶𝐶2 ×𝐿𝐿2 +(𝑁𝑁2 −𝑢𝑢2 )×tan(𝜙𝜙)

𝑆𝑆𝑚𝑚2 =
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑆𝑆2

Figure T-1 Forces and Directions on Bilinear Wedge Elements

The above figure (Figure T-1) shows the two wedge elements and associated forces
generated by Snail for the bi-linear surface mode calculation.

The following is the derivation of equations used by Snail:

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↑ � 𝐹𝐹𝑁𝑁1 = 0

⇒ −(𝐸𝐸𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 × sin(𝜃𝜃1 − 𝜓𝜓)) − (𝑊𝑊1 × cos(𝜃𝜃1 )) + (𝐾𝐾𝑤𝑤 × sin(𝜃𝜃1 )) + (𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 × sin(𝛿𝛿 − 𝜃𝜃1 )) −
(𝑇𝑇𝑛𝑛1 × sin(𝛼𝛼1 + 𝜃𝜃1 )) − (𝑃𝑃𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠1 × cos(𝜃𝜃1 )) − (𝐶𝐶𝑉𝑉1 × cos(𝜃𝜃1 )) + (𝑅𝑅1𝑅𝑅 × sin(𝜃𝜃1 − 𝛽𝛽)) +
𝑁𝑁1 = 0

⇒ 𝑁𝑁1 = (𝐸𝐸𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 × 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑛𝑛(𝜃𝜃1 − 𝜓𝜓)) + (𝑊𝑊1 × 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑠𝑠(𝜃𝜃1 )) − (𝐾𝐾𝑤𝑤 × sin(𝜃𝜃1 )) − (𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 ×
sin(𝛿𝛿 − 𝜃𝜃1 )) + (𝑇𝑇𝑛𝑛1 × sin(𝛼𝛼1 + 𝜃𝜃1 )) + (𝑃𝑃𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 × cos(𝜃𝜃1 )) + (𝐶𝐶𝑉𝑉1 × cos(𝜃𝜃1 )) −
(𝑅𝑅1𝑅𝑅 × sin(𝜃𝜃1− 𝛽𝛽))
Equation 1

→ ∑𝐹𝐹𝑡𝑡1 = 0

⇒ (𝐸𝐸𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 × cos(𝜃𝜃1 − 𝜓𝜓) ) − (𝑊𝑊1 × sin(𝜃𝜃1 )) − (𝐾𝐾𝑊𝑊1 × cos(𝜃𝜃1 )) + (𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 × cos(𝛿𝛿 − 𝜃𝜃1 )) +
(𝑇𝑇𝑛𝑛1 × cos (𝛼𝛼1 + 𝜃𝜃1 )) − (𝑃𝑃𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠1 × sin(𝜃𝜃1 )) − (𝐶𝐶𝑉𝑉1 × sin(𝜃𝜃1 )) − (𝑅𝑅1𝑅𝑅 × cos(𝜃𝜃1 − 𝛽𝛽)) +
�𝐶𝐶1 ×𝑙𝑙1 +�(𝑁𝑁1 −𝑢𝑢1 )×tan(𝜙𝜙)��
=0
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑆𝑆1

⇒ 𝐹𝐹𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜1 = [𝐶𝐶1 × 𝑙𝑙1 + �(𝑁𝑁1 − 𝑢𝑢1 ) × tan(𝜙𝜙)�]/[−(𝐸𝐸𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 × cos(𝜃𝜃1 − 𝜓𝜓) ) + (𝑊𝑊1 × sin(𝜃𝜃1 )) +
(𝐾𝐾𝑊𝑊1 × cos(𝜃𝜃1 )) − (𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 × cos(𝛿𝛿 − 𝜃𝜃1 )) − (𝑇𝑇𝑛𝑛1 × cos (𝛼𝛼1 + 𝜃𝜃1 )) +
(𝑃𝑃𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠1 × sin(𝜃𝜃1 )) + (𝐶𝐶𝑉𝑉1 × sin(𝜃𝜃1 )) + (𝑅𝑅1𝑅𝑅 × cos(𝜃𝜃1 − 𝛽𝛽) ) )]

𝐴𝐴−𝐵𝐵
⇒ 𝑅𝑅1𝑅𝑅 = cos(𝜃𝜃
1 −𝛽𝛽)

Equation 2

where

𝐴𝐴 = (𝐸𝐸𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 × 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 s(𝜃𝜃1 − 𝜓𝜓)) + (𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 × 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 s(𝛿𝛿 − 𝜃𝜃1 )) + (𝑇𝑇𝑛𝑛1 × 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 s(𝛼𝛼1 + 𝜃𝜃1 )) + 𝑆𝑆𝑚𝑚1

𝐵𝐵 = �(𝐶𝐶𝑉𝑉1 × 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠(𝜃𝜃1 )� + �𝑊𝑊1 × 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠(𝜃𝜃1 )� + �𝐾𝐾𝑊𝑊1 × 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐(𝜃𝜃1 )� + �𝑃𝑃𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠1 × 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠(𝜃𝜃1 )�)

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↑ � 𝐹𝐹𝑁𝑁2 = 0

⇒ −(𝑊𝑊2 × cos(𝜃𝜃2 ) + (𝐾𝐾𝑤𝑤2 × sin(𝜃𝜃2 )) − (𝑇𝑇𝑛𝑛2 × sin(𝛼𝛼2 + 𝜃𝜃2 )) − (𝑃𝑃𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠2 × cos(𝜃𝜃2 )) +

(𝐶𝐶𝑉𝑉2 × cos(𝜃𝜃2 )) − (𝑅𝑅2𝐿𝐿 × sin(𝜃𝜃2 − 𝛽𝛽)) + 𝑁𝑁2 = 0

⇒ 𝑁𝑁2 = (𝑊𝑊2 × cos(𝜃𝜃2 ) − (𝐾𝐾𝑤𝑤2 × sin(𝜃𝜃2 )) + (𝑇𝑇𝑛𝑛2 × sin(𝛼𝛼2 + 𝜃𝜃2 )) + (𝑃𝑃𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠2 × cos(𝜃𝜃2 )) −
(𝐶𝐶𝑉𝑉2 × cos(𝜃𝜃2 )) + (𝑅𝑅2𝐿𝐿 × sin(𝜃𝜃2 − 𝛽𝛽))
Equation 3

→ � 𝐹𝐹𝑡𝑡2 = 0

⇒ −(𝑊𝑊2 × sin(𝜃𝜃2 )) − (𝐾𝐾𝑤𝑤2 × cos(𝜃𝜃2 )) + (𝑇𝑇𝑛𝑛2 × cos(𝛼𝛼2 + 𝜃𝜃2 )) − (𝑃𝑃𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠2 × sin(𝜃𝜃2 )) +

�𝐶𝐶2 ×𝑙𝑙2 +�(𝑁𝑁2 −𝑢𝑢2 )×tan(𝜙𝜙)��
(𝐶𝐶𝑉𝑉2 × sin(𝜃𝜃2 )) + (𝑅𝑅2𝐿𝐿 × cos(𝜃𝜃2 − 𝛽𝛽)) + =0
𝐹𝐹𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜2

⇒ 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑆𝑆2 = ((𝐶𝐶2 × 𝑙𝑙2 + ((𝑁𝑁2 − 𝑢𝑢2 ) × tan(𝜙𝜙) )))/((𝑊𝑊2 × sin(𝜃𝜃2 ) + (𝐾𝐾𝑤𝑤2 × cos(𝜃𝜃2 )) −
(𝑇𝑇𝑛𝑛2 × cos(𝛼𝛼2 + 𝜃𝜃2 )) + (𝑃𝑃𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠2 × sin(𝜃𝜃2 )) − (𝐶𝐶𝑉𝑉2 × sin(𝜃𝜃2 )) − (𝑅𝑅2𝐿𝐿 × cos(𝜃𝜃2 − 𝛽𝛽) ) )

𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 = 𝐶𝐶𝑉𝑉1 = 𝐶𝐶𝑉𝑉2 ; 𝑅𝑅 = 𝑅𝑅2𝐿𝐿 = 𝑅𝑅1𝑅𝑅 ;

∑𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑒𝑒 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆ℎ

𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 = ;
∑𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀+𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 − ∑𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁

𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 = 𝐹𝐹𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜1 = 𝐹𝐹𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜2 ;

𝑈𝑈
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 =
𝐿𝐿
Equation 4

where

𝑈𝑈 = �(𝐶𝐶𝑖𝑖 × 𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑖 + (𝑁𝑁𝑖𝑖 − 𝑢𝑢𝑖𝑖 ) × tan(𝜙𝜙))

𝑖𝑖=1

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2

𝐿𝐿 = �[(𝑤𝑤𝑖𝑖 × sin(𝜃𝜃𝑖𝑖 )) + (𝐾𝐾𝑤𝑤 𝑖𝑖 × cos(𝜃𝜃𝑖𝑖 )) + (𝑃𝑃𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑖 × sin(𝜃𝜃𝑖𝑖 )) − (𝑇𝑇𝑛𝑛 𝑖𝑖 × cos(𝛼𝛼𝑖𝑖 + 𝜃𝜃𝑖𝑖 ))]
𝑖𝑖=1

+ {𝑅𝑅 × [cos(𝜃𝜃1 − 𝛽𝛽) − cos(𝜃𝜃2 − 𝛽𝛽)]} + (𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 × (𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝜃𝜃1 − 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝜃𝜃2 )) − (𝐸𝐸𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 × (cos(𝜃𝜃1 − 𝛿𝛿))
− (𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 × (cos(𝛼𝛼 − 𝜃𝜃1 ))

Average equilibrium condition over two wedges is assumed for Equation (4).

𝑊𝑊 = Weight of each slice of soil

𝐾𝐾𝑊𝑊 = Seismic force on each slice

𝐸𝐸𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = External load applied on the wall face

𝑇𝑇𝑛𝑛 = Total resistance from soil nails over each slice

𝑁𝑁 = Normal force acting on sliding surface

𝑢𝑢 = Water pressure acting on sliding surface

𝑃𝑃𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = Surcharge load acting on ground surface

𝜙𝜙 = Friction angle

𝐶𝐶 = Cohesion

𝑅𝑅 = 𝑅𝑅2𝐿𝐿 = 𝑅𝑅1𝑅𝑅 = Inter-slice shear force acting on the interface between two slices

𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 = 𝐶𝐶𝑉𝑉1 = 𝐶𝐶𝑉𝑉2 = Inter-slice shear force due to cohesion term acting along the interface
between two slices

𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 = Passive force, active if below toe search is performed

𝛿𝛿 = Inclination of passive force

ψ= Inclination of external load

𝜃𝜃 = Inclination of sliding surface

𝛼𝛼 = Inclination of soil nail

𝛽𝛽 = Inclination of inter-slice force

From Equation 4, the factor of safety (FoS) is calculated through the following iterations,
since normal forces in Equations 1 and 3, and inter-slice forces in Equation 2 are also a
function of FoS:

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1. Calculate the initial normal force of each slice with no inter-slice force
2. Calculate the initial FoS with normal forces calculated in step 1, with no inter-slice
force
3. Update inter-slice force with the FoS calculated in step 2
4. Update normal forces with inter-slice force and FoS calculated in steps 2 and 3
5. Update FoS with normal forces and inter-slice force calculated in previous steps
6. Calculate tolerance, �𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑆𝑆𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 − 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑆𝑆𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 �/|𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑆𝑆𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 |
7. Iterate until tolerance calculated in step 6 is less than the defaulted tolerance

Depending on user’s selection on the inclination of inter-slice force in Advance Search

Options as shown in Figure 23, 𝛽𝛽 can be a user input, the averaged mobilized friction angle,
or the averaged failure slope.

For LRFD analysis of soil nails reinforced system, Snail use the same seven interactive steps
as described above to calculate the Capacity Demand Ratio (CDR), while the forces are
factored by load or resistance factors.

Passive Resistance

The following figure, Figure T-2, shows the passive wedge element in front of the toe of the
wall used by Snail to analyze tri-linear surfaces.

𝐶𝐶×𝐿𝐿+(𝑁𝑁−𝑢𝑢)×tan(𝜙𝜙)
𝑆𝑆𝑚𝑚 =
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹

Figure T-2 Forces and Direction on Passive Wedge Element

↗ � 𝐹𝐹𝑁𝑁 = 0;

⇒ −(𝑊𝑊 × cos(𝜃𝜃)) − (𝐾𝐾𝑤𝑤 × sin(𝜃𝜃)) − (𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 × sin(𝛿𝛿 + 𝜃𝜃)) + 𝑁𝑁 = 0

⇒ 𝑁𝑁 = (𝑊𝑊 × cos(𝜃𝜃)) + (𝐾𝐾𝑤𝑤 × sin(𝜃𝜃)) + (𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 × sin(𝛿𝛿 + 𝜃𝜃))

Equation 5

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↖ � 𝐹𝐹𝑡𝑡 = 0;

𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶+(𝑁𝑁−𝑢𝑢)×tan(𝜑𝜑)
⇒ −�𝑊𝑊 × sin(𝜃𝜃)� + �𝐾𝐾𝑊𝑊 × cos(𝜃𝜃)� + (𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 × cos(𝛿𝛿 + 𝜃𝜃)) − =0
𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹

Insert N from Equation 5 into

↖ � 𝐹𝐹𝑡𝑡 = 0

⇒ [−(𝑊𝑊 × sin(𝜃𝜃)) + (𝐾𝐾𝑊𝑊 × cos(𝜃𝜃)) + (𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 × cos( 𝛿𝛿 + 𝜃𝜃))] × 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 − 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 −

[(𝑊𝑊 × cos(𝜃𝜃)) + (𝐾𝐾𝑊𝑊 × sin(𝜃𝜃)) + (𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 × sin(𝛿𝛿 + 𝜃𝜃)) − 𝑢𝑢] × tan(𝜑𝜑) = 0

𝑤𝑤(sin(𝜃𝜃)∙𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹+cos(𝜃𝜃) tan(𝜑𝜑))−𝐾𝐾𝐾𝐾(cos(𝜃𝜃)∙𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹−sin(𝜃𝜃) tan(𝜑𝜑))+𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶−utan(𝜑𝜑)

⇒ 𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 = {cos(𝛿𝛿+𝜃𝜃)∙𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹−sin(𝛿𝛿+𝜃𝜃)𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡}

Equation 6

The minimum Passive is searched by incrementally changing the inclination angle of the
passive sliding surface, θ.

Calculation of FoS

In deriving the equation for FoS of a soil/rock slope or wall embedded with reinforcements,
the resistance force of the reinforcements may be placed in the numerator as an addition to
the resistance forces, or in the denominator as a reduction to the driving forces.

In Snail, the pre- factored soil nail resistance forces are placed in the denominator as a
reduction to the driving force, as shown in the following equation.

∑𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑒𝑒 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆ℎ

𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 =
∑𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀+𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 − ∑𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁

The reasons that the factored soil nail resistance forces (Factored Resistance ForceSoil Nails)
are placed in the denominator are:

 (Factored Resistance ForceSoil Nails) is mobilized at smaller strains than that of (Resistance
ForceSoil Strength)
 (Factored Resistance ForceSoil Nails) has been reduced by prescribed resistance factors
(1/FoS) in Snail for the 3 control modes (refer to the following section for details):

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• Factored facing resistance (Ffactored) and active zone sliding,

• Factored tensile yield of soil nail tendons (Rfactored), and
• Factored soil nails pullout (Pfactored)
(Factored Resistance ForceSoil Nails) should therefore not be placed in the numerator that
will result in double reduction

This arrangement of equation for calculating FoS also aligns with the implementation of soil
nail LRFD design.

Factored Soil Nail Resistance

Snail calculates the contributing soil nail tensile force and determines the controlling failure
mode of a soil nail reinforcement based on a conceptual strength envelope as presented by
the thick red line in Figure T-3. This strength envelope is determined by three components:

(1) Factored structural facing resistance (Ffactored),

(2) Factored soil nail bar resistance (Rfactored), and
(3) Factored pullout resistance (Pfactored) between the grout and the soil/rock, where

𝐹𝐹𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 = 𝜙𝜙𝐹𝐹 × 𝐹𝐹𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 𝜙𝜙𝐹𝐹 = resistance factor for soil nail wall facing
𝐹𝐹𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 = nominal facing resistance
𝑅𝑅𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 = 𝜙𝜙𝑅𝑅 × (𝐴𝐴𝑡𝑡 × 𝑓𝑓𝑦𝑦 ) 𝜙𝜙𝑅𝑅 = resistance factor for soil nail bar
𝐴𝐴𝑡𝑡 = soil nail bar cross sectional area
𝑓𝑓𝑦𝑦 = soil nail bar yield strength
𝑃𝑃𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 = 𝜙𝜙𝑃𝑃 × 𝜋𝜋 × 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 × 𝑄𝑄𝑛𝑛 𝜙𝜙𝑃𝑃 = resistance factor for pullout resistance
𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 = soil nail drill hole diameter
𝑄𝑄𝑛𝑛 = nominal bond strength
T(x)

1
Pfactored
1
Rfactored Pfactored
Ffactored 1 2 3

Distance, x

Figure T-3 Conceptual Factored Soil Nail Strength Envelope

Where a search surface intersects a soil nail in the yellow (1) section, factored structural
facing resistance and the pullout resistance of soil/grout interface along the length between
the intersect and the head of the soil nail is assumed to be fully mobilized (Figure T-4); and

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the soil nail tensile strength is assumed to be controlled by structural facing resistance. The
soil nail tensile force is calculated as follows:

𝑇𝑇 = 𝐹𝐹𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 + 𝑃𝑃𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓_𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 × 𝐿𝐿𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖

; 𝐿𝐿𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = distance between the intersect and the head of the soil nail
T(x)

1
Pfactored
1
Rfactored Pfactored
T
Ffactored 1 2 3

Lintersect Distance, x

Search Surface

Figure T-4 Soil Nail Tensile Force – Search Surface Intersect at Structural Facing
Resistance Control Section
Where a search surface intersects a soil nail in the green (2) section, the factored soil nail bar
resistance is assumed to be fully mobilized; and the soil nail tensile strength is assumed to be
controlled by the soil nail bar resistance (Figure T-5). In this case, the soil nail tensile force is:

𝑇𝑇 = 𝑅𝑅𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓

T(x)

1
Pfactored
1
Rfactored T Pfactored
Ffactored 1 2 3

Distance, x

Search Surface

Figure T-5 Soil Nail Tensile Force – Search Surface Intersect at Soil Nail Bar
Resistance Control Section

Where a search surface intersects a soil nail in the blue (3) section, the factored pullout
resistance of the soil/grout interface is assumed to be fully mobilized along the length
between the intersect and the tip of the soil nail (Figure T-6); and the soil nail tensile strength
is assumed to be controlled by the soil/grout pullout resistance. The soil nail tensile force is
calculated as follows:

𝑇𝑇 = 𝑃𝑃𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓_𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 × 𝐿𝐿𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
; 𝐿𝐿𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = distance between the intersect and the tip of the soil nail

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T(x)

1
Pfactored
1
Rfactored Pfactored
T
Ffactored 1 2 3

Distance, x Lintersect

Search Surface

Figure T-6 Soil Nail Tensile Force – Search Surface Intersect at Soil/Grout Pullout
Resistance Control Section

Multiple Layer Scenario

For multiple soil layers, a sliding wedge element is divided into multiple sub-wedges when the
wedge is intersected by soil layer boundaries. The weighted averages of soil strength
properties, i.e. cohesion and friction angle are calculated based on the contributing lengths of
the sliding interface of the sub-wedges.

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4 Technical Notes

Carrying out the Intent of Design in Construction

This software is a tool that assists designers to analyze and design soil nail walls using a
simplified model.

However, installing soil nails into the earth to construct a wall or stabilize a slope effectively
creates a composite mass. The mechanism and interaction between different parts of the
composite mass at different locations and at different times is complex and takes some effort
to comprehend.

Designing a soil nail wall should not stop at completing the calculation or drafting the plans.
The designer should understand how soil nails work in the system, and the meaning of
values entered into the software, or derived by the software and their implications during
construction and service life. The values the designer used or calculated during design are
inherently tied to or affected by the contract specifications, construction, and construction
quality control. The designer, especially the geotechnical designer, should be involved in the
drafting of the specifications, and implementation of the specifications and quality control or
quality assurance during construction to ensure the intent of design has been carried out.

Options for Parametric Studies

Snail has several features and options that allow users to perform parametric studies. For
typical soil nail wall design and analysis these features and options are not needed and
should be left inactive or to the default values.

Service Load at Soil Nail Head (To)

Snail calculates the service load at soil nail head (To) using the formula (Equation 5.1, GEC
No. 7 2015) first recommended by Clouterre (1991) based on observation of a few
experimental walls and empirical inference, and later adopted by GEC No. 7 2003. This
formula has been generally accepted and proven to work, even though it is overly simplified
and considered by some experts to be conservative. Should there be a need to analyze the
load at soil nail head more closely, a geotechnical numerical analysis using a 2-D or 3-D
model is recommended.

Calculated service load at soil nail head (To) should be used only by the geotechnical
designer to check whether the entered allowable facing resistance (Falloawable) or factored
facing resistance (Ffactored) is sufficient, as shown in Figures 24a and 24b. The calculated To
value should not be transferred to the structure designer for any design purposes. The
reasons are explained in the subsequent technical notes.

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Design Communication

The design of a soil nail wall includes both structural facing design and soil nail design. The
only information needed to be transferred between structure facing design and soil nail
design for design calculation are:

1. Soil nail horizontal spacing;

2. Soil nail vertical spacing; and
3. The factored facing resistance (Ffactored) – i.e. the allowable or factored facing capacity.

The soil nail horizontal spacing and vertical spacing are typically determined by the
geotechnical designer for the soil nail design.

A preliminary value of factored facing resistance (Ffactored) is needed for the geotechnical
designer to enter the value into Snail to perform soil nails stability analysis. This value is
needed by Snail to develop the factored soil nail strength envelope for each soil nails as
described in Section 3 Theory.

Therefore, contrary to typical engineering practices, the designer, for either the soil nail or
structural facing, needs to start the design with an assumed factored resistance (capacity) of
the facing, instead of being given a set of demands (loads) from the soil nails.

The geotechnical designer may initiate the design process by means of try-and-error and
arrive at the required factored facing resistance (Ffactored) and select a facing design that meet
required minimum Ffactored from the Snail facing design template and send both the Ffactored
and the selected facing design set to the structure designer for concurring or refining the
design. The suggested procedure for the geotechnical designer to perform try-and-error
method is provided in the following technical notes, “Search for the Required Minimum
Factored Facing Resistances by the Geotechnical Designer”.

Service Load at Soil Nail Head (To) ≠ Geotechnical Factored Facing Resistance (Ffactored
Geotechnical), Ffactored Geotechnical = Ffactored Structure = Ffactored

There is a misconception that the calculated To should be provided to the structure designer
as the facing demand for structural facing analysis and design. As shown in the following
figure (Figure T-7), using To as the facing demand for structural facing design will alter the
factored soil nail strength envelope developed and used by the geotechnical designer. It can
reduce the global FoS that already calculated by Snail.

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𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝐹𝐹𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ 𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 ⇒ ↓ 𝑇𝑇 ⇒ ↓ 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹

𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺ℎ𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛

T(x)

1
Pfactored ↓T
1
Rfactored Pfactored
Ffactored
To 1 2 3

Distance, x
Search Surface

Figure T-7 Reduced Soil Nail Tensile Force – Consequence of Substituting Ffactored with
To

Rather, structure designer and geotechnical designer should use, or arrive at, the same
factored facing resistance (Ffactored) to ensure consistency of the entire design. The following
technical note presents a procedure the geotechnical designer may use to arrive at the
required minimum factored resistances, including factored facing resistance.

Search for the Required Minimum Factored Facing Resistances by the Geotechnical
Designer

Step 1. Set the factored facing resistance (Ffactored) and the factored bar yield strength
(Rfactored) to be higher than the highest possible force generated by pullout resistance
(Pfactored_distal)

𝐹𝐹𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 and 𝑅𝑅𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 > (𝑃𝑃𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓_𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 × 𝐿𝐿)

, where 𝐿𝐿 = 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿ℎ

T(x)
Set Ffactored and Rfactored > Pfactored × L

Pfactored × L

Rfactored Ffactored
1
Pfactored

1 2 3
Distance, x

Soil Nail Length (L)

Figure T-8 – Step 1 Set High Rfactored and Ffactored

Step 2. Adjust and optimize soil nail lengths for the targeted FoS, but

 Maintain proper soil nail lengths to ensure tolerable wall displacement

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 Pay attention if the subsurface materials are high plastic clay or competent soils
and rocks
• In high plastic clay, there is a high potential of creep along the interface of
grout and clay
• In competent soils and rocks, the tolerance for error in soil nail length will be
very slim because there is much shorter embedded soil nail length in the
mobilized zone, and uncertainties in the design will be substantially amplified
T(x)

Rfactored Ffactored
1 Adjust
T Pfactored Soil Nail Lengths
1 2 3

Search Surface Distance, x

Lintersect

Figure T-9 – Step 2 Adjust Soil Nail Lengths

Step 3. Reduce the factored facing resistance (Ffactored) until the control mode turn to “facing”
in Snail while the calculated FoS slightly reduced but remain ≥ targeted FoS

T(x)

Rfactored Adjust F factored

1
T Pfactored
Ffactored
1 2 3
To
Lintersect
Distance, x

Search Surface

Figure T-10 – Step 3 Adjust Ffactored

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Step 4. Check if entered Ffactored ≥ calculated service load at soil nail head (To), i.e. (Ffactored
≥ To)

T(x)

Rfactored
1
T Pfactored
F factored 1 2 3
To
Lintersect
Distance, x

Search Surface

Figure T-11 – Step 4 Check if Ffactored ≥ To

After arriving at a satisfactory factored facing resistance, the geotechnical designer

may select, from the design templates provided by Snail, the facing design with the
closest and higher factored facing resistance, and use the factored facing
resistances associated with the design. Communicate with structure designer which
facing design set should work.

Step 5. Reduce the factored bar yield strength (Rfactored) until the control mode turn to “bar
yield” in Snail while the calculated FoS slightly reduced but remain ≥ targeted FoS

Adjust R factored
T(x)
1
R f actored Pfactored 1
T Pfactored
Ffactored 11 2 3 3

Distance, x

Search Surface

Figure T-12 – Step 5 Adjust Rfactored

Nominal Bond Strength and Nominal Pullout Resistance

Clear understanding of the terms “nominal bond strength” and “nominal pullout resistance” of
soil nails and their implication during construction is critical. During design and analysis, each
term used in Snail is entered and calculated as a value. In addition, Snail applies a reduction
factor or a factor of safety on the nominal bond strength and nominal pullout resistance
during calculation.

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However, strength of a given lot of a material, whether they are man-made or natural
occurrence, should fall into a distribution instead of being a singular value that is customarily
assigned to for analysis and design. The actual pullout capacity of constructed soil nails
should also fall into a distribution, such as that shown in the following figure (Figure T-13).
The nominal pullout resistance may then be determined to be the mean of the distribution or
the lower confidence bound, which can be a value a few standard deviations lower than the
mean.

Unfortunately, very few statistically meaningful distributions of measured soil nail pullout
resistance in various soils and rocks exist.

For the lack of a better means of specifying quality control terms, construction contracts
typically refer to nominal pullout resistance or terms referenced to nominal pullout resistance
as the acceptance criteria during construction. (Note: Caltrans currently uses nominal pullout
resistance as the acceptance criteria for sacrificial verification and proof test nails.)

Because the contract will only accept test nails with pullout resistance greater than the
acceptance criteria, almost all the installed soil nails should have a pullout resistance greater
than the acceptance criteria. As a result, current contracting practice in effect drive the actual
pullout resistance distribution away from (and higher than) the acceptance criteria, even
though acceptance criteria, and by extension the nominal pullout resistance, should be a
characteristic value that is statistically associated with the pullout resistance distribution of the
soil nail population in a wall system.

T(x)
1
1
1 Pn
Pfactored Pfactored

Rfactored
Ffactored 1 2 3

Distance, x

Figure T-13 Soil Nail Nominal Pullout Resistance and its Distribution

Unlike materials produced to specifications such as concrete and steel that have a narrow
distribution of engineering properties, in-situ soils and rocks inherently have a much wider
distribution of engineering properties. As pullout resistance of soil nails is a function of soil
and rock properties, the actual pullout resistance of a given lot of soil nails should fall into a
relatively wide distribution.

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To obtain the distribution of actual pullout resistance, soil nail construction specifications
should require testing of selected sacrificial test nails to failure, after the test nails pass the
acceptance criteria. Only after enough data is gathered and distributions of soil nail pullout
resistance are well understood, resistance factors of soil nail resistances can be discussed,
calibrated, and determined for full implementation of LRFD design of soil nail walls. This
above described testing schedule will be implemented in Caltrans construction specifications
shortly. The geotechnical designer should work closely with the construction contract
administrator to gather as much information as possible during construction to facilitate the
development of LRFD design of soil nail walls.

This above discussion does not imply that the acceptance criteria of soil nail pullout
resistance specified for construction may be revised down. The current soil nail design
procedure and construction specifications have proven that they work as a whole. Even
though some parameters and formulae used in calculation may appear to be overly
conservative, the implemented design may not be overly conservative during construction
and the life time of the soil nail wall.

Rather, the above discussion tries to bring attention to the need for gathering additional data
and information from the soil nail tests during construction and quality control, so that the
values used and obtained in subsurface exploration, analysis, design, and construction can
be calibrated to arrive at a more refined and robust soil nail wall analysis and design
approach.

Pullout Control vs. Soil Nail Bar Yield Control

There is a common misconception that soil nail bar yield should be avoided at all cost when
designing a soil nail wall.

As shown in the following figure (Figure T-14), there are four options to avoid or eliminate soil
nail bar yield, green (2) section, in the Snail calculation:

1. reduce facing resistance (Option 1);

2. increase soil nail bar yield strength or size (Option 2);
3. reduce soil nail length (Option 3); and
4. reduce pullout resistance, Pfactored , – flatten the slope in the figure.

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Option 2
T(x) Option 1 Option 3
1
Pfactored
1
Rfactored Pfactored
Ffactored 1 2 3

Distance, x

Figure T-14 Options to Manipulate Soil Nail Tensile Strength Envelope

Options 1 and 4 are not viable. Reducing soil nail length and increasing soil nail bar yield
strength or size seems to be the options available to eliminate soil nail bar yield control.

However, one should recognize that the strength envelope is composed by factored
strengths. The actual strengths are what count in reality. Even though the actual, un-factored,
bar yield strength is larger than the factored bar yield strength, the nominal pullout resistance
and actual average pullout resistance (Figure T-15) will substantially affect the potential mode
of failure. The following figure shows that in the probable actual/average strength envelope,
the section with soil nail bar yield control can be much greater than the factored strength
envelope suggests.

Probable Actual Bar Yield Control Probable Actual/Average

(Section 2) Pullout Resistance
T(x)
1
1
1
Pfactored Pfactored Pn

Rfactored
Ffactored 1 2 3

Distance, x

Figure T-15 Probable Actual/Average Strength Envelope

Therefore, one should not blindly increase the soil nail bar yield strength or size simply for the
purpose of eliminating soil nail bar yield control, and have the false sense that soil nail bar
yield will not happen since the software says so.

One should also not blindly reduce the soil nail length for the same purpose. The designer
should consider the value and effects of nominal pullout resistance on the whole system to
determine if it makes sense to eliminate soil nail bar yield control by reducing soil nail length.
For example, for soil nails in very competent soil or rock, the nominal pullout resistance can
be very large and the actual average pullout resistance will be even larger. The embedment
length required to eliminate soil nail bar yield control can be very short. As a result, the
tolerance for error will be very slim due to much shorter embedded soil nail length in the

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mobilized zone, and uncertainties in the design will be substantially amplified. Even though
reducing soil nail length can produce an efficient design, it may inherently increase the
horizontal displacement of the wall face.

In summary, do not blindly avoid soil nail bar yield control mode during design. The soil nail
bar yield control prompted by Snail simply indicates that there may be room to reduce soil
nail length to achieve a more efficient design. The designer should evaluate all the
components and factors to determine whether and how much the soil nail length can be
reduced, in addition to the calculated factor of safety.

Use LRFD Method for Soil Nails

To use LRFD method for soil nail analysis and design, Snail users are advised to thoroughly
study GEC No. 7 2015, and articles on LRFD principles.

LRFD method can be fully implemented on structural facing analysis and design of a soil nail
wall.

However, there are unresolved problems in implementing LRFD for geotechnical analysis
and design of soil nails using Limit Equilibrium analysis. These problems stem from the
difficulty in determining which soil mass and which external loads are driving force (demand),
and which contribute to the resistance force (capacity) in Limit Equilibrium analyses, and
applying corresponding load factors or resistance factors accordingly. The matter is further
complicated by that the resistance forces are the function of driving forces in Limit Equilibrium
analyses.

For soil nails analysis, GEC No. 7 2015 recommends performing Allowable Stress Design
(ASD), then checking the results against the recommended load and resistance factors.

Snail provides the LRFD option that allows users to partially implement LRFD method.
However, since Snail’s algorithm is based on Limit Equilibrium, the unresolved problems
persist. One interim solution, as implemented in GEC No. 7 2015, is to apply virtual load
factors to soil nail tensile force. The combination of these virtual load factors (ϕ) and the
resistance factors (γ) applied to soil nail pullout capacities, soil nail bar yield, and facing
capacity will arrive at the factors of safety (FoS) for the respective components that are
compatible with the FoS used in the ASD method.

For parametric analysis of LRFD implementation, Snail allows users to apply load factors to
soil mass and external loads. This option may be used to study the effects of various
combinations of load factors on the analyses.

One option may be contemplated is to apply statistical parameters, means and standard
deviations, to the loads, weights, and resistances. Then, perform Limit Equilibrium analysis
using Monte Carlo simulation to arrive at the Reliability Index, the fundamental and governing

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parameter of the LRFD method, for the system. By doing so will do away with the load factors
and associated conundrums.

Corrosion Protection of Soil Nails

Corrosion protection of soil nail bars is critical for the long-term stability and durability of a soil
nail wall or slope.

Contrary to some other geotechnical constructions, the grout surrounding the soil nails and
ground anchors should not be relied on as a water barrier and part of corrosion protection.
The inherent function of soil nails and ground anchors is to develop pullout resistance
through the grout, a medium between the soil/grout interface and soil nail bar and ground
anchor tendons. The grout column will sustain tensile stress and ultimately develop tensile
cracks in order to transfer the stress. Subsequently, surrounding water and moisture will
infiltrate through these cracks and come into contact with the soil nail bars and ground anchor
tendons.

An excellent and comprehensive research has been conducted by Belgian Building Research
Institute and three-volume articles were published (2008) that provide detailed pullout test
data, physical measurement and photos of the exhumed ground anchors, grout columns, and
developed cracks. Even though these articles are solely for ground anchors, the mechanisms
of grout/ground and grout/tendon interactions are the same for both ground anchors and soil
nails, and applicable to soil nails.

Based on above discussion and findings, soil nails without positive corrosion protection, such
as epoxy coating with corrugated sheathing, should not be used for long-term applications in
a corrosive environment.

Nominal Strength

Nominal strength can be best defined as: the capacity of a structure or component to resist
the effects of loads, as determined by computations using specified material strengths (such
as yield strength, fy, or ultimate strength, fu) and dimensions and formulas derived from
accepted principles of structural mechanics or by field tests or laboratory tests of scaled
models, allowing for modeling effects and differences between laboratory and field
conditions.

Nominal strength of a batch of construction material, such as steel and concrete, is a strength
value derived from testing to failure of specimens sampled from that batch. Even though the
reported nominal strength values are typically the nearest rounded-down customary value
from the minimum tested strength values, the reported nominal strength is still inherently
correlated to the probability density function of the material. For example, the strength
distribution of an ASTM A36 steel production batch should be mostly greater than the
nominal yield strength of 36,000 psi; i.e. near 100% probability that the ASTM A36 steel has
a yield strength of greater than 36,000 psi, the nominal strength.

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There is a much more clearly defined material strength value that is based on statistical
concept, the characteristic strength. The characteristic strength is defined as: the strength of
the material below which not more than 5% of the test results are expected to fall.
Sometimes, the characteristic strength is selected as the nominal strength of a material.

In any event, test-to-failure data is needed to establish the strength probability density
function of a construction material or construction components. Establishing a strength
probability density function for construction materials and construction components is a major
and necessary step to truly implementing LRFD, and also to assigning Factor of Safety under
ASD. Without the strength probability density function based on test-to-failure data, the
design practice can rely only on theory and combined with observed performance of prior
construction.

Among geotechnical construction components, very few, if there is any, have an established
and direct probability density function. This is because it is physically, financially, and
contractually very difficult to test to failure a geotechnical component, such as a driven pile,
let alone to test to failure a batch of these components. Therefore, the nominal strength of
geotechnical construction components that actually based on directly measured strength or
performance probability density functions is rarely available, if it is not non-existence.

Hence, almost all of the nominal strengths used for geotechnical construction components
are established based on theory, inferred from basic soil and rock properties, and combined
with observed performance. Very few of these nominal strength values have been verified by
test to failure.

Nominal Strength and Pullout Resistance of Soil Nails

In soil nail construction, statistically significant amount of sacrificial soil nails are required to
be tested to and pass the nominal pullout resistance in order to satisfy the acceptance
criteria. The implemented test regime provides relatively higher confidence for constructed
soil nails than that for other geotechnical components.

However, tests that stop short of reaching failure cannot be used to establish the strength
probability density function that can verify the reasonableness of the selected nominal pullout
resistance. Recognizing the importance of gathering data of the actual pullout resistance of
soil nails, Caltrans will implement shortly the requirements of pulling verification test nails and
selected proof test nails to failure, and the requirements of reporting the test results in a
consistent electronic format.

Improvement in Interpreting Nominal Strength from Subsurface Exploration

The discussion in the previous section has not addressed the issue of how to interpret
nominal pullout resistance based on field and laboratory tests during design. Currently, the
often-quoted references on this subject are the tables (Tables 4.4a, 4.4b, 4.5, and 4.6) from

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FHWA GEC No. 7. However, the information presented in these tables need to be updated
and improved.

First of all, there is a need for clarification and agreement on where the presented strength
values are at with respect to the probability density function of the particular soils and rocks.
Some may consider these values as the average values compiled from collected data, which
is naturally the case when presenting summary of findings. However, during construction, the
values selected for design, mostly referenced from these tables, are the construction
acceptance criteria – the absolute lower bound according to typical construction contract
language and the de facto nominal strength values. When referencing the values presented
in these tables, geotechnical engineers need to be aware of this potential disconnect.

Thus, clearly defined nominal strength with respect to the probability density function needs
to be established and agreed upon. Meanwhile, we need a concerted effort to continually
accumulate engineering properties of soils and rocks from laboratory and in-situ tests, and
interpreted nominal pullout strength and associated design parameters of these soils and
rocks. Only after we compared the interpreted nominal strengths with the nominal strengths
obtained from soil nail pullout tests and other tests during construction, can we calibrate our
practice.

This above discussion offers a general direction needed to establish a more refined design
practice and prepare for the gradual implementation of LRFD for soil nails. It can take years,
and probably decades, and requires gradual improvement to our subsurface exploration
practice for soil nail design.

Current soil nail design practices all apply various assumptions to simplify a complex
composite system to comprehensible models so that workable design procedures can be
implemented. Be diligent, aware of these assumptions, and be involved throughout the
design, contract development, and construction phases to continually improve on the
understanding of soil nail design and construction.

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5 Acknowledgement

This software is developed by Caltrans engineers:

Robert K. Weber for graphic user interface, and

Seungwoon Han for calculation processors

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