Abstract
This research investigated the effects of types of cohesive-frictional soil and geotextile reinforcement configurations on the bearing capacity of reinforced soil foundation (RSF) structures, via laboratory test and numerical simulation. The four reinforcement configurations studied for the RSF included: (i) horizontal planar form of geotextile, (ii) full-wraparound ends of geotextile, (iii) full-wraparound ends of geotextile with filled-in sand, and (iv) full-wraparound ends of geotextile with filled-in sand and sand backfill. The foundation soils studied were mixtures of fine sand and sodium bentonite at replacement ratios of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% by dry weight of sand to have various values of plasticity index (PI). The numerical analysis of RSF structures was performed using PLAXIS 2D software. Several factors were studied, which included: embedment depth of the top reinforcement layer (U), width of horizontal planar form of the reinforcement (W), and spacing between geotextile reinforcement layers (H). Number of reinforcement layers (N) was varied to determine the optimum parameters of U/B, W/B, H/B, and N, where B is the footing width. The most effective improvement technique was found for the full wraparound ends of geotextile with filled-in sand and sand backfill. The outcome of this research will provide a preliminary guideline in a design of RSF structure with different ground soils and other RSF structures with different geosynthetic types.
Highlights
The Reinforced Soil Foundation (RSF) structure system using geosynthetic reinforcement has grown significantly over the past four decades
Previous research on the bearing capacity of RSF structures [6,13,14,15] was mainly conducted via experimental tests and numerical simulations using either cohesionless or cohesive soils, which were reinforced with the horizontal planar form and wraparound of geotextile reinforcement
The outcome of this study will provide a preliminary guideline in predicting the bearing capacity improvement of cohesive-frictional soils that are reinforced with geotextile
Summary
The Reinforced Soil Foundation (RSF) structure system using geosynthetic reinforcement has grown significantly over the past four decades. Previous research on the bearing capacity of RSF structures [6,13,14,15] was mainly conducted via experimental tests and numerical simulations using either cohesionless (sand) or cohesive (clay) soils, which were reinforced with the horizontal planar form and wraparound of geotextile reinforcement. Large-scale load-bearing tests were performed to simulate the RSF structures with varying the embedment depth of top reinforcement layer (U), width of horizontal planar reinforcement (W), the spacing between geotextile reinforcement layers (H), and the number of reinforcement layers (N) to determine the optimum parameters of U/B, W/B, H/B and N, where B is the width of footing. Based on the analysis of the numerical result, the appropriate reinforcement configurations were recommended for the foundation soils at different PIs. The outcome of this study will provide a preliminary guideline in predicting the bearing capacity improvement of cohesive-frictional soils that are reinforced with geotextile
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