Effects of the first reinforcement depth for different types of geosynthetics

Abstract

In this study, the performance of the first reinforcement layer depth for sand subbase of a road or construction was investigated with plate load laboratory tests. Unreinforced and reinforced experiments for different reinforcement types were made by changing the first reinforcement layer depth ratio. One type of geotextile and two different geogrid specimens were used in the research. Load-settlement curves and Bearing Ratios were studied by measuring the results for different settlement ratios. Finally, laboratory measurements of unreinforced and reinforced soil using geotextile reinforcement were compared with Finite Element Model (FEM) analyses modeled under similar conditions. The results demonstrated the effects of different types of reinforcements for different first reinforcement layer locations. The number of reinforcement layers was another parameter which affected the bearing ratio along with the first reinforcement layer depths. It was also observed that the Bearing Ratio (BR) and load-settlement behavior changed significantly with the first reinforcement depth and settlements. Effects on failure modes for unreinforced and reinforced sand soils were compared for each test.