Abstract
Selected problems of the mechanics of a loose soil medium, illustrated with tests of cuboidal specimens loaded with a vertical, static, axial symmetric pressure, have been presented. The specimens were reinforced with inserts (nets) situated horizontally, i.e. perpendicular to the plane of loading. The interaction between reinforced soil components, in particular the influence of soil and reinforcement related factors on the size of an interaction zone, was discussed.An average horizontal stress and an experimental coefficient of lateral pressure were taken into account when assessing the effect of reinforcement on the deformability of soil.
Highlights
Reinforced soil has been used as material in various civil engineering structures for over 30 years
The introduction of soil reinforcement into engineering practice opened up a new field: reinforced soil mechanics, covering three major groups of problems: proper choice of reinforcement, description of the mechanical properties of a considered composite material and the interaction between a reinforced-soil structure and the medium [5]
The Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of Hydro-Engineering in Gdańsk has contributed significantly to the development of reinforced soil mechanics [2, 4, 5] by creating rigid-elastic and elastoplastic models of reinforced soil, working out the slope’s and the retaining wall’s load bearing capacity and the static and kinematic solutions of the limit load capacity of loose subsoil loaded with foundations, etc
Summary
Reinforced soil has been used as material in various civil engineering structures for over 30 years. In laboratory testing three main areas relating to: the reinforcement’s mechanical properties, the interaction between reinforced soil components and the testing of reinforced soil treated as a composite can be distinguished [5]. This paper deals with an experimental analysis of the behaviour of large-size specimens of reinforced loose soil (a laboratory model) loaded vertically with a static pressure. The vertical (settlement) and horizontal (lateral pressure) deformations were measured and the performance of the reinforcement and changes in the values of the soil specimen’s mechanical properties versus the adopted parameters relating to the test conditions (load), the soil medium (compaction), the number and location of reinforcing inserts were assessed. Seven model wall measurement levels were distinguished: z1 ϭ 0.03 m; z2 ϭ 0.09 m; z3 ϭ 0.15 m; z4 ϭ 0.21 m; z5 ϭ 0.27 m; z6 ϭ 0.33 m; z7 ϭ 0.39 m
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