Influence of Fibre-Reinforced Load Transfer Platform Supported Embankment on Floating Columns Improved Soft Soils

Abstract

Fibre reinforcement has been proved to be effective in improving geotechnical characteristics of both untreated and cemented soils, such as shear and compressive strength, bearing capacity, ductility and load-settlement behaviour. The application of fibre-reinforced soils could be beneficial to construction of embankments over soft soils because it can maintain its proper strength and bearing capacity when suffering from large total and differential settlements. In this study, fibre-reinforced cemented soil foundation is proposed to be used as a fibre-reinforced load transfer platform (FRLTP) combined with columns supported (CS) embankment constructed on multilayers of soft soils. To investigate the effect of addition of FRLTP into the CS embankment system, a numerical investigation based on the finite element analysis (FEA) using PLAXIS 2D was conducted. Moreover, a parametric analysis was carried out to evaluate the influence of the FRLTP thickness on the performance of the CS embankment when considering the vertical and differential settlements during the embankment construction and post-construction stages. The predicted results indicate that the vertical settlement and the lateral deformation considerably reduce with the insertion of FRLTP into the CS embankment system. Meanwhile, the outcomes of the parametric study reveal that the FRLTP thickness has a significant influence on the enhancement in the time-dependent differential settlement. Although the vertical settlement significantly decreases with increasing the FRLTP thickness, the post-construction vertical settlement was predicted to be most likely independent of the FRLTP thickness. The findings of this study could enable geotechnical engineers and designers to design a time-dependent performance-based FRLTP for a CS embankment over soft soils and aim to enhance the related design codes.