Pullout Behavior of Nail Reinforcement in Nailed Soil Slope

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Very interesting and especially applied work. In it, the pullout resistance and displacement performance of reinforced soil system tested on a granular soil is analyzed. The results of scale tests carried out in the laboratory have been compared with finite element models.
The work must be modified in its structure and reviewed from a formal point of view, according to the following comments.
 
1. Introduction.
Very profuse chapter in the description of the bibliographic antecedents of the investigation. A small revision of this section is recommended in order to improve the synthesis and reduce its length.
Likewise, it is recommended to clearly clarify the scientific objectives of the research at the end of the section, clearly differentiating them from the tasks of the study.

2. Materials and Methods for Soil Nail Reinforcement Pullout Test
Very extensive chapter in which the methodology followed is described in detail. It is recommended to summarize this section slightly and establish a clearer order. Likewise, it is recommended to avoid a structure in subsections that is excessive: 2.1, 2.11, etc. It should be clarified and better describe what the samples 1-4 shown in figure 1 correspond to. Likewise, the origin of the data in figure 2 should be clarified. Figures 3 and 8 have not been cited in the text and that is essential. The quality of figure 4 can be improved. It is advisable to move the texts from 1-2-3-4 from the figure to the figure footer for a better reading. In Figure 5 it is recommended to include a graphic scale and expand the text in part (c) of the figure. In figure 6 it is recommended to number the figures and transfer the appropriate description to the figure footer. It should be explained how the samples were taken and the data presented in Figure 7 determined.

3. Results and Discussion
Figure 10 and the beginning of this section seem more typical of the methodology chapter than the results chapter. It is recommended to integrate figures 11, 12 and 13. into a single figure (with 3 parts?). This same recommendation is valid for figures 14 and 15. There is an excessive number of figures. The discussion needs to be improved, comparing the results obtained with those included in previous studies.

4. Finite element modeling
A section cannot be presented after the results and discussion section. This section should be part of the results. The methodological part of it, which should be improved, should be included in section 2 of the article. Leave only the results in this section. It is recommended to better describe the results obtained with stress-strain modeling.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.doc

Reviewer 2 Report

see pdf enclosed with only minimum corrections and a single larger issue regarding validation of FE simulations.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.doc

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The proposed changes have been made. I consider that the article can be accepted in its present form.