Response of strip footing resting on earth bed reinforced with geotextile with wraparound ends using finite element analysis

Abstract

The usage of reinforcement in the soil mass has resolved the issue of scarcity of suitable land for construction. It has enabled the wise utilization of problematic soils with the application of geotextile as reinforcements. Out of many alternatives of the utilization of geotextile material as a reinforcement element for the soil, the provision of geogrids with wraparound ends offers an improved load-bearing capacity of a foundation and also saves the land space needed for the preparation of the conventional reinforced earth bed. This potential method to improve the load–settlement response of the poor soil strata lacks the proper design recommendations. This paper presents a systematic numerical study to evaluate the optimum geometrical parameters for the improvement in the ultimate load-bearing capacity of a given strip footing resting over the reinforced earth bed. The geometrical parameters of the geotextiles that are considered in this study are: the reinforcement width, lap length of the ends of the reinforcement, the vertical spacing between two consecutive reinforcement layers, the optimum number of the reinforcing layers, and the critical position of the first reinforcing layer from the footing. The abovementioned parameters are modeled by using a finite element method-based numerical tool, and the load–settlement response for a footing of width B = 2 m is studied for multiple layers of reinforcements. This study recommends the optimum depth of the first layer of reinforcement from the bottom of the footing and the width of the reinforcing layers are 0.3 and 1.5 times the width of the footing, respectively.