Abstract
Effectiveness of unreinforced and geogrid-reinforced granular fill overlay on soft soil has been assessed by small-scale model tests in the laboratory. Granulated blast furnace slag (GBS) has been used as a granular fill. GBS is a by-product of the iron/steel industry and is produced by quick quenching the molten slag by water. The effect on bearing-capacity ratios of strip footing for various unreinforced GBS fill thicknesses have been observed and optimum thickness of the GBS fill obtained. This optimum thickness has been used to study the effect of the number of geogrid layers on bearing-capacity ratio of reinforced GBS fill overlay on soft soils. The test results indicate substantial improvement in terms of increase in bearing-capacity ratio and reduction in the footing settlement due to provision of GBS fill overlay on soft soil. Application of geogrid reinforcement further enhances the bearing-capacity ratio and stiffness of the overlying GBS fill. Optimum thickness of GBS fill increases the bearing-capacity ratio of soft soil by 85%. Further, reinforcement of optimum GBS fill thickness by optimum number of layers increases the bearing-capacity ratio by 419%.
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