Analysis of resistance factors for LRFD of soil nail pullout limit state using default FHWA load and resistance models

Resistance factors for load and resistance factor design (LRFD) of pullout limit state of both permanent and temporary soil nails are calibrated against a wide design space using the current Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) nail load and resistance models. The calculated resistance factors were shown to scatter broadly among design scenarios that differ in wall face batter, soil friction angle, nail ultimate bond strength, and surcharge live load. An important lesson learned from the analysis results is that the current practice of using a single resistance factor for LRFD of nail pullout limit state could not result in uniform reliabilities across different design scenarios. Simple artificial neural network (ANN) models were developed for computation of resistance factors. Design examples demonstrated the ability of the ANN models in providing resistance factors that yield satisfactory and consistent reliabilities in different nail pullout designs.