基于系统分析的桩网复合地基荷载效应定量评价模型研究

目前对桩-网复合地基的设计主要存在两点不足,一是计算路堤底桩土荷载分担时需要假设土拱高度,二是对桩间地基土反力的定量评价偏于保守。针对这两个问题,重点分析了路堤荷载作用下土拱效应与加筋薄膜效应,根据堤底桩土相对位移得到计算的土拱高度,推导土拱效应与薄膜效应共同作用下路堤荷载在桩与土之间的分配计算公式;考虑刚性桩桩顶与桩端位置的桩土相对位移以及桩周土对桩侧作用摩阻力存在中性点,根据应力、位移连续性条件,建立桩-网-土联合作用的桩承式加筋路堤的荷载效应计算模型并给出求解方法,通过3个工程实例对该方法进行合理性验证。结果表明,具备一定刚度的桩端下卧层时,采用本模型的计算结果与实测值比较接近,可为工程应用借鉴。     

基于混合试验的桩承式加筋路堤参数影响分析

桩承式加筋路堤的路堤土拱效应、加筋体张拉膜效应以及桩土地基承载效应之间存在着较为复杂的耦合效应,由于土拱效应随路堤加载与桩间土下沉的演化,目前的计算理论与方法难以真实地评价桩承式路堤荷载调节与沉降稳定的全过程。引入混合试验的技术思路,开发一套阵列式多活动门试验装置及桩土地基混合试验方法,实现加筋垫层路堤物理模型与桩土地基数值模型的适时数据交换,开展9组不同路堤高度与加筋体拉伸模量的参数影响试验。试验结果表明：所建立的混合试验方法能够较好地实现桩承式加筋路堤的全组件参与、全效应耦合工作性能模拟,大大地节省了试验成本和时间,为桩承式加筋路堤的长期承载性能演化以及沉降预测提供了一种新的试验手段。同心圆力学模型能够较为准确地评价路堤的最大土拱效应。当路堤高度较低时,采用拉伸模量较高的加筋体能够提高桩的荷载分担比。采用拉伸模量较高的加筋体,在不同的加筋高度条件下均能够显著地降低桩间土沉降与桩土差异沉降。随着路堤高度的增加,不同加筋体模量试验的桩、土荷载分担比趋于一致,采用地基反力系数法不能可靠地反映桩间土的真实承载机制。     

筒桩桩承式加筋路堤现场试验研究

为了进一步明确筒桩桩承式加筋路堤的工作机制,在广州绕城高速公路九江—小塘段进行现场试验。试验结果证明,筒桩单桩竖向承载力大,均以刺入方式破坏,并且筒桩单桩复合地基承载力大,沉降小。筒桩桩承式加筋路堤荷载传递机制主要受"土拱效应"和"拉膜效应"控制,桩土应力比随路堤荷载以及桩顶与桩间土之间沉降差的变化而变化。路堤荷载下筒桩复合地基,总沉降小,桩帽上和桩间土上的土体存在沉降差,沉降差的发展可以反映土拱效应的发挥程度。另外,路堤荷载在地基土中产生的超孔隙水压力很小,且随深度迅速减小,地下6.0m处超孔压已接近0。路堤侧向变形小且随深度迅速减小,最大侧向变形发生在地下3.0～4.5m处。     

路堤荷载下双向增强体复合地基桩土应力比计算

根据路堤–垫层–桩土加固区相互作用的特点,将加筋垫层视为弹性薄板,将桩与桩间土体视为刚度不同的弹簧体系,基于弹性地基上的小挠度薄板理论模拟加筋垫层的挠曲变形,同时考虑路堤土拱效应,建立路堤荷载下双向增强体复合地基桩土应力比的计算模型,根据应力与位移的连续性条件,求解桩土应力比。最后将工程实测结果与计算结果进行对比,二者吻合较好,表明该方法的可行性。研究成果能够为工程实践提供参考。     

基于Hewlett土拱模型桩承式加筋路堤桩土应力比计算

桩土应力比是桩承式加筋路堤荷载传递以及地基沉降计算的重要参数。基于Hewlett土拱模型,单独分析拱顶或拱脚土单元,假设拱顶土单元处于极限状态(拱脚土单元处于弹塑性状态),以均匀超载模拟交通荷载,推导桩土应力比计算公式;基于抛物线模型,考虑筋-土界面摩擦以及地基反力,改进张拉膜效应分析方法,推导加筋条件下桩土应力比计算公式。最后与相关文献实测数据进行对比验证,结果表明该方法与相关文献实测结果除桩间净距为100mm存在误差外,变化规律基本一致,当桩间净距大于100mm时,误差不超过8%。     

中低压缩性土地区桩承式加筋路堤现场试验研究

将桩承式加筋路堤技术应用于中低压缩性土地区高速铁路桥台和涵洞之间填方路基的处理,通过逐渐改变CFG桩桩长形成刚度均匀变化的地基加固区,严格控制线路纵向差异沉降。通过现场试验对桥台、涵顶和路基中心地基沉降进行了长期观测,同时对桩承式加筋路堤桩间土沉降、孔隙水压力、格栅上下表面土压力和格栅变形进行了长期监测分析。研究结果表明:桩承式加筋路堤可有效减小中低压缩性土地基沉降,总沉降小且很快趋于稳定;桩承式加筋路堤通过土拱效应和张拉膜效应将路堤荷载向桩帽传递,格栅下桩土应力比明显高于格栅上,张拉膜效应明显,格栅上桩土应力比接近1.0,土拱效应较弱;格栅在路肩处发挥的作用强于线路中心处。     

桩承式路堤中土拱效应的改进Hewlett算法

桩承式路堤的承载机制即路堤在路堤荷载以及外部荷载的共同作用下，路堤内部力的传递与分布情况，而土拱效应是路堤承载特性与各组成部分相互作用的综合反映，因此分析桩承式路堤的承载机制，最重要的就是研究其土拱效应。在对Hewlett的平面和空间土拱效应计算方法作必要阐述基础上，对Hewlett空间土拱效应下塑性点出现在桩顶时的边界条件作了改进，得到改进后的桩土荷载分担比计算式。并用改进后的计算方法、Hewlett的方法分析桩土荷载分担比随桩帽宽与桩心距之比、桩心距与路堤高度之比、路堤填料内摩擦角的变化规律，并进行比较分析。最后通过与实测数据和数值分析结果的对比，验证该改进算法的可靠性与可行性，可供工程设计时参考。     

考虑路堤填筑过程与地基土固结相耦合的 桩承式路堤土拱效应分析

 土拱效应分析是桩承式路堤设计时需要解决的首要问题,在总结分析已有现场测试资料及研究成果的基础上,建立能考虑路堤填筑过程与地基土固结相耦合的土拱效应计算模型。该计算模型比较完整地反映了从路堤开始填筑直到地基土固结完成整个过程中土拱效应的发展变化历程,模型计算结果与现场实测结果比较吻合。利用该计算模型对台缙高速公路工程桩承式路堤土拱效应及桩身中性点位置的变化特征进行分析,研究结果表明：(1) 在路堤填筑过程中,桩土应力比迅速增加,路堤填筑完毕直至地基土固结完成这个过程中,桩土应力比虽然有所变化,但变化的幅度不大,与路堤刚填筑完毕时的桩土应力比相比,后期桩土应力比的变化幅度不大于15%;(2) 在路堤填筑及地基土固结过程中,桩身中性点位置经历了先逐渐向下移动、尔后向上移动、再向下移动、最终趋于稳定位置的过程。该研究成果可为桩承式路堤设计提供有益的参考。     

梅花形布桩GRPS复合地基性状分析

通过对桩网复合地基的加固机理进行分析,基于单桩等效处理范围内堤身土体受力平衡,采用改进的Hewlett极限状态空间土拱效应分析方法,求得了梅花形布桩情况下桩体和桩间土受力计算的解析表达式;通过对加筋体拉膜效应的分析,基于桩间土范围内加筋体受力平衡,求得桩土相对最大沉降,进而求得加筋体的变形形态函数和加筋体拉力解析式。当土拱进入塑性状态后,加筋体可明显提高桩体受力能力,降低桩间土压力,从而减小桩间土的沉降。分析计算结果表明,通过加筋作用,可以提高桩土应力比,减小桩间土沉降。     

移动荷载作用下桩承式加筋路堤的动力特性

为了研究桩承式加筋路堤在移动荷载作用下的特性,采用FLAC 3D软件建立了移动荷载作用下道路的三维动力流固耦合分析模型,对桩承式加筋路堤和天然路堤在移动荷载作用下的竖向变形、桩土应力比、超孔隙水压力、加速度等进行了对比分析,并研究了不同轴载对路堤竖向变形的影响。分析结果表明：移动荷载作用下,桩承式加筋路堤通过桩体土拱效应和格栅张拉膜效应的联合作用,其路面竖向变形、桩土应力比、超孔隙水压力、加速度均比天然路堤的结果明显减小;随着轴载的增加,桩承式加筋路堤路面竖向变形不断增大。     

3D numerical study of the performance of geosynthetic-reinforced and pile-supported embankments

Geosynthetic-reinforced and pile-supported (GRPS) systems provide an economic and effective solution for embankments. The load transfer mechanisms are tridimensional ones and depend on the interaction between linked elements, such as piles, soil, and geosynthetics. This paper presents an extensive parametric study using three-dimensional numerical calculations for geosynthetic-reinforced and pile-supported embankments. The numerical analysis is conducted for both cohesive and non-cohesive embankment soils to emphasize the fill soil cohesion effect on the load and settlement efficacy of GRPS embankments. The influence of the embankment height, soft ground elastic modulus, improvement area ratio, geosynthetic tensile stiffness and fill soil properties are also investigated on the arching efficacy, GR membrane efficacy, differential settlement, geosynthetic tension, and settlement reduction performance. The numerical results indicated that the GRPS system shows a good performance for reducing the embankment settlements. The ratio of the embankment height to the pile spacing, subsoil stiffness, and fill soil properties are the most important design parameters to be considered in a GRPS design. The results also suggested that the fill soil cohesion strengthens the soil arching effect, and increases the loading efficacy. However, the soil arching mobilization is not necessarily at the peak state but could be reached at the critical state. Finally, the geosynthetic strains are not uniform along the geosynthetic, and the maximum geosynthetic strain occurs at the pile edge. The geosynthetic deformed shape is a curve that is closer to a circular shape than a parabolic one.     

Two-dimensional soil arching evolution in geosynthetic-reinforced pile-supported embankments over voids

Soil arching and tensioned membrane effects are two main load transfer mechanisms for geosynthetic-reinforced pile-supported (GRPS) embankments over soft soils or voids. Evidences show that the tensioned membrane effect interacts with the soil arching effect. To investigate the soil arching evolution under different geosynthetic reinforcement stiffness and embankment height, a series of discrete element method (DEM) simulations of GRPS embankments were carried out based on physical model tests. The results indicate that the deformation pattern in the GRPS embankments changed from a concentric ellipse arch pattern to an equal settlement pattern with the increase of the embankment height. High stiffness geosynthetic hindered the development of soil arching and required more subsoil settlement to enable the development of maximum soil arching. However, soil arching in the GRPS embankments with low stiffness reinforcement degraded after reaching maximum soil arching. Appropriate stiffness reinforcement ensured the development and stability of maximum soil arching. According to the stress states on the pile top, a concentric ellipse soil arch model is proposed in this paper to describe the soil arching behavior in the GRPS embankments over voids. The predicted heights of soil arches and load efficacies on the piles agreed well with the DEM simulations and the test results from the literature.     

A novel 2D-3D conversion method for calculating maximum strain of geosynthetic reinforcement in pile-supported embankments

For design of a geosynthetic-reinforced pile-supported (GRPS) embankment over soft soil, the methods used to calculate strains in geosynthetic reinforcement at a vertical stress were mostly developed based on a plane-strain or two-dimensional (2-D) condition or a strip between two pile caps. These 2-D-based methods cannot accurately predict the strain of geosynthetic reinforcement under a three-dimensional (3-D) condition. In this paper, a series of numerical models were established to compare the maximum strains and vertical deflections (also called sags) of geosynthetic reinforcement under the 2-D and 3-D conditions, considering the following influence factors: soil support, cap shape and pattern, and a cushion layer between cap and reinforcement. The numerical results show that the maximum strain in the geosynthetic reinforcement decreased with an increase of the modulus of subgrade reaction. The 2-D model underestimated the maximum strain and sag in the geosynthetic reinforcement as compared with the 3-D model. The cap shape and pattern had significant influences on the maximum strains in the geosynthetic reinforcements. An empirical method involving the geometric factors of cap shape and pattern, and the soil support was developed to convert the calculated strains of geosynthetic reinforcement in piled embankments under the 2-D condition to those under the 3-D condition and verified through a comparison with the results in the literature.     

Geosynthetic-reinforced pile-supported embankments with caps in a triangular pattern over soft clay

Given the limit studies on the behavior of GRPS embankments with different numbers of geosynthetic layers and pile caps in a triangular pattern, this paper conducted a series of three-dimensional (3-D) numerical analyses. The numerical model was verified based on a well-instrumented large-scale test. A 3-D soil arch model was proposed for pile caps in a triangular pattern, in which the crown of the upper boundary was approximately 1.4 times the clear spacing of pile caps. Inclusion of geosynthetic reinforcement reduced the soil arching effect but increased the total load carried by the piles. For the case with three geosynthetic layers, the lower layer had a significant effect on load transfer than the middle and upper layers, but each layer had an almost proportional effect on mitigating the differential settlement on the top of the gravel cushion. The maximum strains in the reinforcement concentrated on the geosynthetic strips bridging over two adjacent square cap corners.     

Reinforcement load in geosynthetic-reinforced pile-supported model embankments

The stress conditions of geosynthetic reinforcements (GRs) are crucial in achieving the accurate serviceability design of geosynthetic-reinforced pile-supported (GRPS) embankments. However, the sensitivity of load distribution to the settlement process has been reported in geosynthetic-reinforced embankment overlying cavities. In this study, a three-dimensional model embankment was used to perform experiments and evaluate the load acting on the GR. A flexible pressure-mapping sensor was introduced to investigate the pressure distribution for two types of supporting conditions: partitioned displacement by multiple movable trapdoors and even trapdoor settlement underneath different subsoil materials. The results showed that the load on the GR was concentrated on the strip areas between adjacent pile heads along with the settlement. The measured load on the GR strip area was related to the settlement process and finally exhibited a U-shaped distribution after detachment from the support underneath. The soil arch height in the subgrade continuously increased with the settlement; meanwhile, the pile head load increased rapidly at first and then decreased slightly or remained stable depending on the foundation support stiffness. For both types of settlement behaviours, soil arching exhibited stress history-related characteristics that influence the load transfer in GRPS embankments.     

Centrifuge tests to investigate global performance of geosynthetic-reinforced pile-supported embankments with side slopes

Three centrifuge model tests were conducted to investigate the influence of the number of geosynthetic layers and the pile clear spacing on the global performance of Geosynthetic-Reinforced Pile-Supported (GRPS) embankments with side slopes constructed on soft soil foundations. This study found that the change of the geogrid number from one to two did not significantly affect the foundation settlement, the geogrid deflection, and the vertical stress at the embankment base. For the GRPS embankment with a single geogrid layer, the geogrid strain distribution at the embankment base showed an “M” shape along the transverse direction with the maximum strain near the embankment shoulder. When two geogrid layers with sand in between were used, the upper and lower layers showed different strain distributions with the maximum strains happening near the embankment shoulder and at the center of the embankment for the upper and lower layers respectively. The strains of the upper geogrid were smaller than those of the lower geogrid. Smaller pile clear spacing reduced the geogrid deflection and the foundation settlement. Despite the change of the pile clear spacing, the progressive development of soil arching with the normalized displacement at the embankment base followed a similar trend without an obvious stress recovery stage.     

A simplified model for the analysis of piled embankments considering arching and subsoil consolidation

An analytical model is presented for the design of geosynthetic-reinforced and pile-supported (GRPS) embankments in this paper. The originality of the proposed solution lies in the fact that it allows considering the influence of the subsoil consolidation on the soil arching and geosynthetic strain. A nonlinear function is implemented to describe the subsoil behavior with the consolidation process in a closed-form solution. A simplified approach is then presented to link the arching development with the subsoil consolidation. The arching theory is combined with the tensioned membrane theory and the soil-structure interaction mechanisms to provide a simple and suitable design approach that enables a realistic approximation for designing soil–geosynthetic systems. The analytical model is capable of performing an ultimate and serviceability limit state design of GRPS embankments. While current methods cannot fully address the important effects of the subsoil consolidation, the analytical results suggested that arching and differential settlements increase with an increase of the subsoil consolidation degree. The analytical model is compared to field measurements and five other design standards for several full-scale field tests to study its validity. The results showed a satisfactory agreement between the proposed model and measured data, and generally better results are obtained as compared with other design methods.     

Comparison and evaluation of analytical models for the design of geosynthetic-reinforced and pile-supported embankments

Geosynthetic-reinforced and pile-supported (GRPS) embankments are becoming more and more popular as this technique showed good performances in practice. Various design methods were introduced to analyze GRPS embankments. However, the applicability of these design methods was not always fully validated. This paper focuses on the review of projects containing field observations of GRPS embankments. The comparison results showed that the assumptions related to the subsoil support, geosynthetic, arching shape, and its evolution are not consistent in the analytical methods. Comparison results with twenty-five full-scale cases and six series of experiments emphasize that these available design methods produce significantly different results in predicting loads transfer mechanism. The analytical models predict arching for cohesionless fill better that for cohesive fill soils. Besides, the analytical methods which consider subsoil support such as the CUR226 and EBGEO methods give results that are in a better agreement with experimental data as compared to other methods which do not consider the subsoil support. The CUR226 (2016) analytical model seems to be able to give the best performance with measured data when compared to other design methods. Finally, the results pointed out that the limit equilibrium model is adequate and has good performance.     

A simplified method for analysis of a piled embankment reinforced with geosynthetics

Piled embankments provide an economic solution to the problem of constructing embankments over soft soils. The piles and geosynthetic combination can alleviate the uneven surface settlements that sometimes occur in embankments supported by piles without reinforcement. The main focus of this paper is to present a new method for analysis of an embankment of granular fill on soft ground supported by a rectangular grid of piles and geosynthetic. This method is based on consideration of the arching effect in granular soil and similar to the method proposed by Low, B.K., Tang, S.K., Choa, V. [1994. Arching in piled embankments. Journal of Geotechnical Engineering 120 (11), 1917–1938]. The main refinements are: inclusion of a uniform surcharge load on the embankment fill, individual square caps were used, and taking into account the skin friction mechanism, which contributes to soil–geosynthetic interface resistance. Using this method, the influence of embankment height, soft ground depth, soft ground elastic modulus, and geosynthetic tensile stiffness on efficiency, stress concentration ratio, settlement ratio, tension of geosynthetic, and axial strain of geosynthetic are investigated. The results show that inclusion of a geosynthetic membrane can increase the fill load carried by piles. As a result, both the total and differential settlements of the embankment can be reduced. The new design method was verified against several current design methods. Theoretical solution showed that BS8006 [1995. Code of Practice for Strengthened/Reinforced Soils and other Fills. British Standards Institution, London, p. 162] and Guido, V.A., Kneuppel, J.D., Sweeny, M.A. [1987. Plate loading tests on geogrid-reinforced earth slabs. In: Proceedings of the Geosynthetics '87, New Orleans, USA, IFAI, pp. 216–225] methods overpredict the vertical stress acting on the geosynthetic due to that the reaction of the soft ground on the geosynthetic is not considered in their methods. It also showed that the present method is in good agreement with Low, B.K., Tang, S.K., Choa, V. [1994. Arching in piled embankments. Journal of Geotechnical Engineering 120 (11), 1917–1938] method.