Reinforced Earth~(~R) was invented more than 30 years ago by French Engineer and Architect, Henri Vidal, Today there are thousands of Reinforced Earth Structures, reinforced with galvanized steel earth reinforcements, that have been in service for more than twenty years. Recently two of these structures, one in California and one in Virginia, were investigated. Samples of the galvanized steel earth reinforcements and samples of the backfill surrounding the reinforcements were retrieved from each of the structures. Measurements have been taken of the remaining zinc thickness, and the electrochemical properties of the backfill have been tested and confirmed to be within industry standards. The thickness of zinc remaining on the reinforcements is subtracted from the original zinc thickness, and the resulting loss in zinc is compared with the linear loss model used to estimate the service life of the zinc coating. After twenty years in service, the zinc coating is performing better than the loss model and no corrosion of the base metal has occurred. Similar findings are being discovered throughout the United States by Department of Transportation owners, as they unearth galvanized steel earth reinforcements in actual structures that have been in service for many years. These studies suggest that the linear loss model currently in use for the design of Mechanically Stabilized Earth structures may be overly conservative.
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