Applied bearing pressure beneath a reinforced soil foundation used in a geosynthetic reinforced soil integrated bridge system

Geosynthetic reinforced soil integrated bridge system (GRS-IBS) design guidelines recommend the use of a reinforced soil foundation (RSF) to support the dead loads that are applied by the reinforced soil abutment and bridge superstructure, as well as any live loads that are applied by traffic on the bridge or abutment. The RSF is composed of high-quality granular fill material that is compacted and encapsulated within a geotextile fabric. Current GRS-IBS interim implementation design guidelines recommend the use of design methodologies for bearing capacity that are based around rigid foundation behavior, which yield a trapezoidal applied pressure distribution that is converted to a uniform applied pressure that acts over a reduced footing width for purposes of analysis. Recommended methods for determining the applied pressure distribution beneath the RSF for settlement analyses follow conventional methodologies for assessing the settlement of spread footings, which typically assume uniformly applied pressures beneath the base of the foundation that are distributed to the underlying soil layers in a fashion that can reasonably be modeled with an elastic-theory approach. Field data collected from an instrumented GRS-IBS that was constructed over a fine-grained soil foundation indicates that the RSF actually behaves in a fairly flexible way under load, yielding an applied pressure distribution that is not uniform or trapezoidal, and which is significantly different than what conventional GRS-IBS design methodologies assume. This paper consequently presents an empirical approach to determining the applied pressure distribution beneath the RSF in GRS-IBS construction. This empirical approach is a useful first step for researchers, as it draws important attention to this issue, and provides a framework for collecting meaningful field data on future projects which accurately capture real GRS-IBS foundation behavior.     

Case history on failure of a 67 M tall reinforced soil slope

Construction of this 67 m high RSS was completed in December 2006. After seven years in-service, a tension crack was observed at the top of the slope. In March 2015 this RSS structure catastrophically collapsed. This RSS structure collapsed in a compound failure mode; as the failure plane passed beneath, partially behind, and partially through the reinforced soil mass. The failure plane beneath the RSS was along a shale-claystone interface. The failure surface partially behind the RSS was along sandstone bedrock with water-seeping bedding planes dipping out of the rock mass. The failure surface through the upper portion of the RSS is where the geogrid reinforcement was overwhelmed by stresses originating from underlying deformation. The RSS collapse occurred after 8.3 years in-service as the shear strength along the shale-claystone interface decreased and approached the fully softened strength. The primary causative factors of this failure are: (i) an insufficient subsurface investigation program and interpretation of data for design and detailing; (ii) insufficient specifications and construction plan details for both foundation preparation and rock backcut benching; (iii) insufficient foundation preparation and rock backcut benching during construction; and (iv) adaptations to the design made during construction.     

Behaviour of geogrid reinforced soil retaining wall with concrete-rigid facing

Monitoring was carried out during construction of a cast-in-situ concrete-rigid facing geogrid reinforced soil retaining wall in the Gan (Zhou)-Long (Yan) railway main line of China. The monitoring included the vertical foundation pressure and lateral earth pressure of the reinforced soil wall facing, the tensile strain in the reinforcement and the horizontal deformation of the facing. The vertical foundation pressure of reinforced soil retaining wall is non-linear along the reinforcement length, and the maximum value is at the middle of the reinforcement length, moreover the value reduces gradually at top and bottom. The measured lateral earth pressure within the reinforced soil wall is non-linear along the height and the value is less than the active lateral earth pressure. The distribution of tensile strain in the geogrid reinforcements within the upper portion of the wall is single-peak value, but the distribution of tensile strain in the reinforcements within the lower portion of the wall has double-peak values. The potential failure plane within the upper portion of the wall is similar to “0.3H method”, whereas the potential failure plane within portion of the lower wall is closer to the active Rankine earth pressure theory. The position of the maximum lateral displacement of the wall face during construction is within portion of the lower wall, moreover the position of the maximum lateral displacement of the wall face post-construction is within the portion of the top wall. These monitoring results of the behaviour of the wall can be used as a reference for future study and design of geogrid reinforced soil retaining wall systems.     

Experimental and Analytical studies of reinforced crushed limestone

This research study aims at investigating the behavior of spread footings on reinforced crushed limestone using laboratory model tests. The model tests were conducted inside a steel box with dimensions of 1.5 m (length) × 0.91 m (width) × 0.91 m (height) using a steel plate with dimensions of 152 mm × 152 mm (6 in. × 6 in.). The parameters investigated include the number of reinforcement layers and the tensile modulus and type of reinforcement. An analytical solution is also developed to estimate the ultimate bearing capacity of reinforced crushed limestone. The test results show that the inclusion of reinforcement can appreciably improve the bearing capacity of crushed limestone up to a factor of 2.85 at a settlement ratio of 10% and reduce the footing settlement down to 75% at a surface pressure of 5500 kPa. The results also demonstrate that reinforcements with higher tensile modulus performed better than reinforcements with lower tensile modulus and that steel reinforcement performed better than geogrid reinforcement. The proposed analytical solution gave a good predication of experimental results of geogrid reinforced sections, while Huang and Menq's solution (1997) gave a good predication for steel reinforced crushed limestone. The analytical results also showed that the reinforced ratio (R_r) should be high enough to form the “deep footing” effect.     

土工格栅在软土地基处理中的应用

阐述了土工格栅处理软土地基的机理，对土工格栅处理软土地基的设计及施工作了介绍，并对其研究检测结果进行了分析，指出该法处理软土地基施工简便、缩短工期、经济社会效益明显。     

Physical and numerical modelling of strip footing on geogrid reinforced transparent sand

This paper presents the results of laboratory scale plate load tests on transparent soils reinforced with biaxial polypropylene geogrids. The influence of reinforcement length and number of reinforcement layers on the load-settlement response of the reinforced soil foundation was assessed by varying the reinforcement length and the number of geogrid layers, each spaced at 25% of footing width. The deformations of the reinforcement layers and soil under strip loading were examined with the aid of laser transmitters (to illuminate the geogrid reinforcement) and digital camera. A two-dimensional finite difference program was used to study the fracture of geogrid under strip loading considering the geometry of the model tests. The bearing capacity and stiffness of the reinforced soil foundation has increased with the increase in the reinforcement length and number of reinforcement layers, but the increase is more prominent by increasing number of reinforcement layers. The results from the physical and numerical modelling on reinforced soil foundation reveal that fracture of geogrid could initiate in the bottom layer of reinforcement and progress to subsequent upper layers. The displacement and stress contours along with the mobilized tensile force distribution obtained from the numerical simulations have complimented the observations made from the experiments.     

Experimental study on the load bearing behavior of geosynthetic reinforced soil bridge abutments on yielding foundation

This paper presents an experimental study of the load bearing behavior of geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) bridge abutments constructed on yielding clay foundation. The effects of two different ground improvement methods for the yielding clay foundation, including reinforced soil foundation and stone column foundation, were evaluated. The clay foundation was prepared using kaolin and consolidated to reach desired shear strength. The 1/5-scale GRS abutment models with a height of 0.8 m were constructed using sand backfill, geogrid reinforcement, and modular block facing. For the GRS abutments on three different yielding foundations, the reinforced soil zone had relatively uniform settlement and behaved like a composite due to the higher stiffness than the foundation layers. The wall facing moved outward with significant movements near the bottom of facing, and the foundation soil in front of facing showed obvious uplifting movements. The vertical stresses transferred from the footing load within the GRS abutment and on the foundation soil are higher for stiffer foundation. The improvement of foundation soil using geosynthetic reinforced soil and stone columns could reduce the deformations of GRS abutments on yielding foundation. Results from this study provide insights on the practical applications of GRS abutments on yielding foundation.     

Static structural behavior of geogrid reinforced soil retaining walls with a deformation buffer zone

To understand the structural behavior of geogrid reinforced soil retaining walls (GRSW) with a deformation buffer zone (DBZ) under static loads, the model tests and the numerical simulations were conducted to obtain the wall face horizontal displacement, vertical and horizontal soil pressures, and geogrid strains. Results showed that compared with the common GRSW, the horizontal displacement of GRSW with DBZ decreased, and the horizontal soil pressure acting on the face panel of GRSW with DBZ increased. The vertical and horizontal soil pressures showed a nonlinear distribution along the reinforcement length, and the value was smaller near the face panel. The horizontal soil pressure acting on the face panel of GRSW with DBZ was greater than that of the common GRSW in the middle portion. The cumulative strain of the geogrid had a single-peak distribution along its length; the maximum strain of the geogrid was 0.45%, the maximum tension was approximately 29.12% of ultimate tensile strength.     

Hydro-mechanical behavior of geogrid reinforced soil barriers of landfill cover systems

This paper examines the hydro-mechanical behavior of soil barriers with and without the inclusion of geogrid reinforcement within the soil barrier of landfill cover systems. The effect of geogrid type on the deformation behavior of the soil barrier subjected to various ranges of distortion levels was examined through centrifuge tests carried out at 40 g. An overburden pressure equivalent to that of landfill cover systems was applied to all the soil barriers tested in this study. The performance of the soil barrier with and without geogrid layer was assessed by measuring water breakthrough at the onset of differential settlements during centrifuge tests. Un-reinforced soil barriers of 0.6 m and 1.2 m thickness were observed to experience single narrow cracks penetrating up to full -depth of soil barriers at distortion levels of 0.056 and 0.069 respectively. In comparison, soil barriers reinforced with geogrids restrained cracking better than unreinforced soil barriers. However, degree of restraining of cracks in the soil barriers was found to be strongly depending on the geogrid type and the thickness of the soil barrier. Limiting distortion levels for 0.6 m and 1.2 m thick soil barriers reinforced with a low strength geogrid was found to be 0.095 and 0.108 respectively. When the soil barrier of both thicknesses was reinforced with a geogrid having relatively high tensile load-strain characteristics, the integrity of the geogrid reinforced soil barrier was observed to be retained even after inducing a distortion level of 0.125. The results from the present study suggest that the hydro-mechanical behavior of the soil barriers can be improved with a suitable geogrid layer having adequate tensile load-strain characteristics.     

加筋膨胀土地基极限承载力公式的确定

根据膨胀土产生膨胀性土压力的规律，并结合加筋土的加筋和破坏机理，由极限平衡分析理论，提出了考虑膨胀力作用的加筋膨胀土地基的极限承载力公式，为确定加筋膨胀土地基的承载力提供了理论依据，并可供设计时参考。     

DIA of centrifuge model tests on geogrid reinforced soil walls with low-permeable backfills subjected to rainfall

Geogrid reinforced soil walls (GRSWs) constructed using low-permeable backfills often experience failures when subjected to rainfall. The objective of this paper is to employ centrifuge modelling to investigate the effect of geogrid types on the performance of GRSW models constructed with low-permeable backfill, when subjected to rainfall intensity of 10 mm/h. A 4.5 m radius large beam centrifuge facility was used, and rainfall was simulated using a custom-designed rainfall simulator at 40 gravities. Digital Image Analysis (DIA) was employed to understand the deformation behaviour of GRSWs with low stiffness geogrid layers with and without drainage provision subjected to rainfall. Additionally, the effect of varying stiffness of geogrid reinforcement layers across the height of GRSW was also investigated. The interpretation of DIA helped to quantify displacement vector fields, face movements, surface settlement profiles and geogrid strain distribution with depth. Irrespective of drainage provision, GRSWs reinforced with low stiffness geogrid layers experienced a catastrophic failure at the onset of rainfall. However, GRSW reinforced with geogrid layers of varying stiffness was observed to perform well. This study demonstrates the effective use of DIA of GRSWs subjected to rainfall along with centrifuge-based physical model testing.     

Bearing capacity of circular foundations reinforced with geogrid sheets

The ultimate bearing capacity of a circular footing, placed over a soil mass which is reinforced with horizontal layers of circular reinforcement sheets, has been determined by using the upper bound theorem of the limit analysis in conjunction with finite elements and linear optimization. For performing the analysis, three different soil media have been separately considered, namely, (i) fully granular, (ii) cohesive frictional, and (iii) fully cohesive with an additional provision to account for an increase of cohesion with depth. The reinforcement sheets are assumed to be structurally strong to resist axial tension but without having any resistance to bending; such an approximation usually holds good for geogrid sheets. The shear failure between the reinforcement sheet and adjoining soil mass has been considered. The increase in the magnitudes of the bearing capacity factors (N_c and N_γ) with an inclusion of the reinforcement has been computed in terms of the efficiency factors η_c and η_γ. The results have been obtained (i) for different values of ϕ in case of fully granular (c=0) and c−ϕ soils, and (ii) for different rates (m) at which the cohesion increases with depth for a purely cohesive soil (ϕ=0^○). The critical positions and corresponding optimum diameter of the reinforcement sheets, for achieving the maximum bearing capacity, have also been established. The increase in the bearing capacity with an employment of the reinforcement increases continuously with an increase in ϕ. The improvement in the bearing capacity becomes quite extensive for two layers of the reinforcements as compared to the single layer of the reinforcement. The results obtained from the study are found to compare well with the available theoretical and experimental data reported in literature.     

Experimental investigation on the accumulated strain of coarse-grained soil reinforced by geogrid under high-cycle cyclic loading

In this study, a series of cyclic triaxial tests were conducted to study the accumulated strain of coarse-grained soil reinforced with geogrids, and the effect of the number of geogrid layers, confining pressure and cyclic stress amplitude was investigated in detail. The test results show that the final accumulated axial strain of the soils reinforced with geogrids is less than that without reinforcement, and less accumulated axial strain is generated for the specimens with more geogrid layers under identical cyclic loading. The results also show that a higher confining pressure or a lower cyclic stress amplitude yields less accumulated axial strain for the reinforced soils. Furthermore, the plastic shakedown limits are determined by the criterion proposed by Chen et al. It indicates that the plastic shakedown limit increases significantly when one layer of geogrid is incorporated into the specimen and then tends to level off with a continuous increase in the number of geogrid layers. Moreover, a higher confining pressure yields a higher plastic shakedown limit for the soils reinforced with geogrid. The results demonstrated that the use of geogrid can be an effective method to reduce the accumulated deformation of subgrade filling materials under high-cycle traffic loading.     

塑料排水板与土工格栅在软土地基中的应用

以某工程采用塑料排水板与土工格栅综合法对深软土地基进行处理为例，对其施工工艺、施工中的注意事项以及处理效果进行了介绍，可供类似工程参考。     

Geosynthetic-sheet pile reinforced foundation for mitigation of earthquake and tsunami induced damage of breakwater

Earthquake and tsunami impose great threats on the stability of a breakwater. Foundation of the breakwater is weakened by these forces, and it may result in collapse of the breakwater. Lateral flow of seabed soils take place beneath the breakwater, and excess pore water pressure is generated in the foundation by an earthquake that precedes tsunami. These factors may lead to excessive settlement and horizontal displacement of the breakwater. Tsunami introduces additional instability to the deformed breakwater. Due to water level difference between seaside and harborside of the breakwater during a tsunami, seepage occurs through its foundation, and it may cause pipping of seabed soils. Tsunami induced scouring of mound is also a big problem for the stability of the breakwater foundation. Finally, these result in failure of the breakwater foundation. Due to failure of its foundation, the breakwater may collapse and cannot block the tsunami. It results in entering of the tsunami in coastal areas. In order to make a breakwater resilient against earthquake and tsunami induced damage, reinforcing countermeasures were developed for foundation of a breakwater. Geogrid, gabions and sheet piles were used for reinforcing a foundation model. The effectiveness of the model is evaluated through physical modeling for mitigating the earthquake and tsunami induced damage. Shaking table tests were performed to determine the effectiveness of the reinforced model under different earthquake loadings. Tsunami overflow test was conducted on the same deformed model in order to see the effects of tsunami on the model. Comparisons were made between the unreinforced and reinforced foundations, and it was observed during the tests that the reinforced foundation performed well in reducing the damage of the breakwater brought by the earthquake and tsunami. Overall, this study is useful for practice engineering, and the reinforced foundation model can be adopted for designing a breakwater foundation to reduce damage triggered by an earthquake and tsunami in the future.     

Centrifuge model studies on the performance of soil walls reinforced with sand-cushioned geogrid layers

This paper is to investigate the effectiveness of encapsulating geogrid layers within thin sand layers, for enhancing the deformation behavior of vertical reinforced soil walls constructed with marginal backfills. Centrifuge model tests were performed on vertical soil walls, reinforced with geogrid layers, using a 4.5 m radius large beam centrifuge available at IIT Bombay at 40 gravities. The backfill conditions, height of soil wall, reinforcement length, and reinforcement spacing, were kept constant in all the tests. A wrap-around technique was used to represent flexible facing. Three different geogrid types with varying stiffness were used in the present study. The walls were instrumented with vertical linear variable differential transformers to monitor surface settlements during the tests. Marker-based digital image analysis technique was used to determine face movements and distribution of geogrid strain along the wall height. The deformation behavior of soil walls, reinforced with geogrid layers encapsulated in thin layers of sand, were compared against a base model having no sand-cushioned geogrid layers. Provision of sand-cushioned geogrid layers and increase in geogrid stiffness were found to limit normalized face movements (S_f/H), normalized crest settlements (S_c/H), and change in maximum peak reinforcement strain (dε_pmax). Sand-cushioned geogrid layers were also found to limit the development of tension cracks behind and within the reinforced zone. Significant reduction in rate of maximum face movement (dS_fmax/dt) and rate of maximum peak reinforcement strain (dε_pmax/dt) was observed, with an increase in value of normalized reinforcement stiffness (J_g/γH²) of geogrid layers. The analysis and interpretation of centrifuge model tests on soil walls, constructed with marginal backfills and reinforced with sand-cushioned geogrid layers, indicate that their performance is superior to the walls without sand-cushioned geogrid layers.     

Performance of a 33m high geogrid reinforced soil embankment without concrete panel

Geosynthetic reinforced soil embankment are extensively applied in the construction of high-speed railway and highway in mountainous regions but limited field monitoring is conducted on high and steep cases. Aiming to acquire better understanding, a 33-m-high single-tiered wrapped-facing geogrid reinforced soil embankment with the slope of 1 V:0.5H in China was monitored for 2 years during and after construction. Vertical earth pressure, strain of geogrids, horizontal displacement and settlement per layer were recorded and analysed. The results show that the geogrid tensile strains gradually increased during construction. And they were still developing after completion due to creep and subsequent vehicle surcharge load. The predictions of reinforcement loads by the FHWA methods were much higher than the estimated ones from measured strains. The vertical earth pressures linearly grew during construction and then stabilized fast. The horizontal displacement increases with height and the largest value achieved around the top of the slope two years after the construction is 0.14% the total height approximately. The settlement per layer is larger in the lower and middle portion of the embankment and no obvious change is observed over time. This study hopes to serve as a case reference for design and construction of similar reinforcement projects in the future.     

Numerical evaluation of the effect of foundation on the behaviour of reinforced soil walls

This study numerically investigates the influence of foundation conditions, in combination with other factors such as wall height and reinforcement and facing stiffness, on the behaviour of reinforced soil walls (RSWs) under working stress conditions. The foundation was simulated using different stiffnesses and geometries (with and without slope). The results highlight the importance of the combined effect of foundation conditions and the abovementioned factors on the performance of RSWs. The results of these analyses indicate that the shape of the distribution of the maximum reinforcement loads (T_max) with respect to wall height depends on the combined effect of the foundation condition, facing and reinforcement stiffness, and wall height, and varies from trapezoidal to triangular. Additionally, the results indicate that the effect of variations in foundation stiffness on reinforcement tension mobilisation decreases with wall height. Furthermore, the T_max prediction accuracy of three design methods were evaluated and some limitations of each method are presented and discussed.     

The effect of geogrid reinforcement on unbound aggregates

Improvement of track, highway and runway unbound aggregate behaviour using geogrids is researched. Geogrid reinforcement into unbound aggregate in most cases will improve the performance of the unbound aggregate portion of a transportation support. Unfortunately, the optimal location and number of geogrid layers have not been established. Presented are experimental results for three different construction possibilities of geogrid reinforcement in the unbound aggregate layers. The aggregate layers were subject to both repeated loading and static loading. The advantages of the different construction methods are studied and field applications are discussed. Finally, conclusions are made regarding the optimal position of the geogrid reinforcement.     

建筑场地地基土承载力的确定

结合具体的工程实践，通过室内土工试验和现场静力触探等实测资料的分析，并根据有关规范与标准，得出该工程地基土承载力的推荐值和相关参数，为有关的基础设计提供了借鉴。