Optimum burial depth of geosynthetic reinforcement within sand bed based on numerical investigation

Abstract

In model studies as well as in field projects, the burial depth of a geosynthetic reinforcement layer within a sand bed is often assumed to be approximately 0.3 times the width of the footing. However, most studies generally overlook that the ratio will vary according to the angle of internal friction of soil. This paper presents a numerical investigation of the effect of the angle of internal friction of sand on the optimum burial depth of geosynthetic reinforcement. The results reveal that the optimum burial depth depends significantly on the angle of internal friction of sand, especially when the angle is greater than 30°. The findings show a linear relationship between the optimum burial depth of reinforcement and the height of the active zone beneath the footing following the Terzaghi’s failure mechanism for unreinforced foundations. The study also investigates the effect of reinforcement width, with the results showing that the reinforcement width does not affect the optimum burial depth of the geosynthetic layer, although it affects the bearing capacity ratio.