The mechanics of reinforcede bankments on soft soils

Abstract

The mechanics of reinforced embankments on soft foundation soils are examined to try to establish appropriate methods for their analysis and design. The focus is the bearing capacity of the foundation under the combined vertical and shear loading derived from the embankment fill. Lower bound plasticity solutions exist for this case, and indicate the magnitude of the reduction in bearing capacity due to outward shear stresses, compared to the ‘smooth’ case, and the improvement due to inward shear stresses. The improvement is greatest for soil with strength increasing with depth, or relatively thin layers of soft soil. The action of the reinforcement can be described in terms of the reinforcement firstly acting to carry the outward shear stresses generated by the embankment fill, and secondly providing inward shear stresses to restrain the foundation soil from lateral displacement. The slip circle analysis for an embankment on soft soil can now be examined using the plasticity solutions as the benchmark. To calculate foundation stability the slip circle is used only in the foundation, with vertical and shear stresses applied on the foundation surface. In the unreinforced case the outward thrust in the fill must be included for the assessment of overall stability, and it is suggested that the thrust is besst calculated directly rather than with the same slip circle used in the foundation carried through the fill. The conclusion is that the slip circle analysis is satisfactory in the case of deep deposits of soil with strength increasing with depth. Where the depth of the soft soil is limited, however, the slip circle analysis appears to overestimate stability and the use of the plasticity solutions as a basis for design is recommended.