Plate Load Tests of Multi-Layered Geocell Reinforced Bed Considering Embedment Depth of Footing

Abstract

This paper describes the effect of embedment depth on bearing capacity of footing supported by geocell-reinforced bed, using plate load test at a diameter of 300mm. The embedment depth ratio of the footing was varied from zero to 0.75. The plate load tests were performed in an outdoor test pit dug in natural ground measuring 2000 x 2000mm in plan and 1000mm in depth. The geocell used in the tests was non-perforated with pocket size 110 x 110 mm2 and height 100mm, fabricated from continuous polypropylene filaments as a nonwoven geotextile. The tests were conducted on geocell reinforced bed sand, which was compacted to 85% relative density. The test results demonstrate that the bearing pressure increases with increase in the embedment depth ratio and the number of geocell layers. The study also compares the embedment depth ratio of one layer geocell reinforcement with two and three layer geocell reinforcement bed with no embedment depth. These comparisons show that the performance of footing on single layer reinforced bed with the embedment depth ratio of 0.25 and 0.75 might be comparable to the performance of footing on geocell-reinforced bed with two and three reinforcement layers.