Interfacial properties of geocell-reinforced granular soils

To provide an accurate response of Geocells under pull-out conditions such as what happened in retained backfills, interfacial characteristics of Geocell-backfill are required. A series of direct shear tests was carried out to investigate influence of soil physical properties on interfacial properties of Geocell-reinforced granular soils. Variable parameters encompass poorly graded coarse-grained soils with different medium particles sizes (3, 6 and 12?mm), different normal stresses (100, 200 and 300?kPa) and different relative densities (50 and 70%). To compare the developed strength of the shear plane, in unreinforced and Geocell-reinforced statuses, shear characteristics mobilized at the shear plane including friction angle, dilation angle and apparent cohesion have been evaluated. The results indicated improvement of the interface's shear strength characteristics due to the presence of Geocell. The shear strength in the Geocell-soil interface was increased by increasing the medium grain size and relative density of the soil. From the obtained results, for coarse aggregates (cell aspect ratio-ratio of Geocell's cells diameter (b) to the medium grains size (D₅₀)- smaller than 8.5), Geocell reinforcement was two times, at least, more successful than compaction effort, in improving shear characteristics of the unreinforced medium dense fill materials. It has been recommended using Geocells in environments with low normal stress and coarse aggregates. Furthermore, the results clarify that Geocell with cell aspect ratio equal to 4, has the best performance in improvement of interface's shear strength.     

Geosynthetic-encased stone columns: Numerical evaluation

Stone columns (or granular piles) are increasingly being used for ground improvement, particularly for flexible structures such as road embankments, oil storage tanks, etc. When the stone columns are installed in extremely soft soils, the lateral confinement offered by the surrounding soil may not be adequate to form the stone column. Consequently, the stone columns installed in such soils will not be able to develop the required load-bearing capacity. In such soils, the required lateral confinement can be induced by encasing the stone columns with a suitable geosynthetic. The encasement, besides increasing the strength and stiffness of the stone column, prevents the lateral squeezing of stones when the column is installed even in extremely soft soils, thus enabling quicker and more economical installation. This paper investigates the qualitative and quantitative improvement in load capacity of the stone column by encasement through a comprehensive parametric study using the finite element analysis. It is found from the analyses that the encased stone columns have much higher load carrying capacities and undergo lesser compressions and lesser lateral bulging as compared to conventional stone columns. The results have shown that the lateral confining stresses developed in the stone columns are higher with encasement. The encasement at the top portion of the stone column up to twice the diameter of the column is found to be adequate in improving its load carrying capacity. As the stiffness of the encasement increases, the lateral stresses transferred to the surrounding soil are found to decrease. This phenomenon makes the load capacity of encased columns less dependent on the strength of the surrounding soil as compared to the ordinary stone columns.     

Three-dimensional numerical analysis of individual geotextile-encased sand columns with surrounding loose sand

Use of geotextile-encased sand columns (GESC) to improve weak soils is an emerging technology that has great promise for field applications. This paper contains the results of a numerical study with the goal of quantifying the benefits of geotextile encasement under different conditions. A three-dimensional finite difference method implemented in FLAC3D 5.01 was used to evaluate the performance of a vertically loaded individual GESC installed in loose sand. The numerical model was first verified using the results of experimental tests performed on 150-mm diameter GESC installed in loose sand. The influence of various parameters was investigated in this study, including GESC diameter and length, soil thickness, geotextile encasement length, geotextile stiffness, and friction angle and dilation angle of the infill material. The results of the numerical model showed that vertically loaded GESC of smaller diameter experienced less settlement and lateral expansion than those of larger diameter. The geotextile material with higher stiffness had a substantial influence on the performance of GESC. The maximum effective geotextile encasement length depended on the load on the column head or the compressibility of the column.     

Centrifuge modeling of geosynthetic-encased stone column-supported embankment over soft clay

Geosynthetic-encased stone column (GESC) has been proven as an effective alternative to reinforcing soft soils. In this paper, a series of centrifuge model tests were conducted to investigate the performance of GESC-supported embankment over soft clay by varying the stiffness of encasement material. The enhancement in the performance of stone columns encased with geosynthetic materials was quantified by comparing the test with ordinary stone columns (OSCs) under identical test conditions. The test results reveal that by encasing stone columns with geosynthetic material, a significant reduction in the ground settlement, relatively faster dissipation of excess pore pressure and enhanced stress concentration ratio was noticed. Moreover, with the increase in the encasement stiffness from 450 kN/m to 3300 kN/m, the stress concentration ratio increased from 4 to 6.5, which signifies the importance of encasement stiffness. In addition, a relatively lower value of soil arching ratio observed for GESCs compared to OSCs indicate the formation of a relatively strong soil arch in the GESC-supported embankment. Interestingly, under embankment loading, GESCs fail by bending while OSCs fail by bulging. The stress reduction method can be used to calculate the settlement of GESC-supported embankment with larger stress reduction factor than that in the OSC-supported embankment. Finally, the limitation of the construction of the embankment at 1 g was addressed.     

Shaking table tests on geosynthetic encased columns in soft clay

This paper presents the results of an experimental research on the behavior of geosynthetic encased stone columns and ordinary stone columns embedded in soft clay under dynamic base shaking. For this purpose, a novel laminar box is designed and developed to run a total of eight sets of 1-G shaking table tests on four different model soil profiles: Soft clay bed, ordinary stone column installed clay bed, and clay beds with geosynthetic encased columns with two different reinforcement stiffnesses. The geosynthetic encased columns are heavily instrumented with strain rosettes to quantify the reinforcement strains developing under the action of dynamic loads. The responses of the columns are studied through the deformation modes of the encased columns and the magnitude and distribution of reinforcement strains under dynamic loading. The response of the granular inclusion enhanced soft subsoil and embankment soil and the identification of the dynamic soil properties of the entire soil body are also discussed in this article. Finally, to determine the effect of dynamic loading on the vertical load carrying capacity, stress-controlled column load tests are undertaken both on seismically loaded and undisturbed columns.     

Numerical evaluation of a granular column reinforced by geosynthetics using encasement and laminated disks

Structures built on soft strata may experience substantial settlement, large lateral deformation of the soft layer and global or local instability. Granular columns reinforced by geosynthetic materials reduce settlement and increase the bearing capacity of the composite ground. Reinforcement is more common in the form of geosynthetic encasement, but laminated disks can also be used. This paper compares these two forms of reinforcement by means of unit cell finite element analyses. Numerical results were initially validated using field and experimental data, and parametric studies were subsequently performed. The parametric studies varied the geosynthetic interval and the geosynthetic tensile stiffness of the laminated disks as well as the length of the reinforced column. The analyses showed that in both modes; encasement and laminated disks; the geosynthetic increases the vertical stress mobilized on the reinforced column and reduces settlement on soft soil. It was also observed that in order to achieve the same performance as with encased column, the optimum interval between laminated disks is dependent on the stiffness of the geosynthetics and the column reinforced length.     

Stress-controlled direct shear testing of geosynthetic clay liners I: Apparatus development

The use of geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) in waste containment applications can induce long-term normal and shear stresses as well as expose GCLs to elevated temperatures and non-standard hydration solutions. Considering the importance of GCL internal shear strength to the design and integrity of waste containment barrier systems, innovative laboratory testing methods are needed to assess shear behavior of GCLs. There were two main objectives of this study: (i) develop a stress-controlled direct shear apparatus capable of testing GCLs exposed to elevated temperatures and hydrated in non-standard solutions; and (ii) assess internal shear behavior of GCLs under varying experimental conditions (e.g., stress, temperature, solution). These two objectives were partitioned into a two-paper set, whereby Part I (this paper) focuses on the shear box design and Part II focuses on an assessment of shear behavior. The direct shear apparatus includes a reaction frame to mitigate specimen rotation that develops from an internal moment within needle-punched reinforced GCLs. Rapid-loading shear tests were conducted to assess functionality of the apparatus and document baseline shear behavior for a heat-treated and a non-heat treated needle-punched GCL with comparable peel strength. These two GCLs failed at comparable applied shear stress; however, the heat-treated GCL yielded lower shear deformation and failure occurred via rupture of reinforcement fiber anchors, whereas the non-heat treated GCL yielded larger shear deformation and failure via pullout of reinforcement fibers.     

A numerical modelling technique for geosynthetics validated on a cavity model test

Numerical modelling approaches can aid in designing geotechnical constructions involving geosynthetics. However, the reliability of numerical results depends on how the model is developed, the constitutive model, and the set of parameters used. By comparing the numerical results with experiment, the present work verifies a numerical modelling technique developed to model multilayered geosynthetic lining systems for landfills. The numerical modelling technique involves strain softening at interfaces and allows the axial stiffness of the geosynthetics to evolve as a function of strain. This work focuses on a two-dimensional finite-difference model, which is used to simulate three types of experimental tests: conventional uniaxial tensile tests, direct shear tests, and a large-scale test that was used to assess the overall mechanical behaviour of a reinforced geosynthetic system that spanned over a cavity. This reinforced geosynthetic system consisted of a 50 kN/m polyvinyl alcohol geogrid reinforcement embedded in a layer of sand, a geosynthetic clay liner, a high-density polyethylene geomembrane, and a non-woven needle-punched geotextile. The uniaxial tensile tests, direct shear tests, and the large-scale test were numerically modelled and the numerical results were compared with experimental results. The results of the numerical modelling technique presented very closely match the results of the three experimental tests, which indicates that the numerical model correctly predicted the measured data.     

On the shear failure mode of granular column embedded unit cells subjected to static and cyclic shear loads

Since the initial conception of geosynthetic encased columns (GECs), exhaustion of column capacity due to vertical loads in bulging and punching failure modes were readily recognized. This lead to a vast majority of the available research on GECs to be about the behavior of columns under the action of vertical loads. Recently, two other likely and perhaps more dominant failure modes for granular columns namely, shear and bending failure modes, were identified. The purpose of this paper is to study the behavior of unit cells containing ordinary stone columns (OSCs) and GECs under static and cyclic lateral loads where shear failure of the column is imminent. 1-g physical tests are conducted with a novel apparatus, designated as Unit Cell Shear Device (UCSD), to model the behavior of the unit cells located close to the toe of an embankment where OSCs and GECs experience significant lateral loading. Overall failure envelope and strength parameters for GECs with varying reinforcement stiffnesses are quantified under static and cyclic lateral loading conditions. The distribution and magnitude of reinforcement strains in horizontal (hoop) and vertical direction of the columns are also considered.     

A numerical analysis of a fully penetrated encased granular column

This paper studies the performance of an individual encased granular column that is embedded in soft soil using a numerical analysis. The numerical analysis is verified by experimental tests that are performed in the laboratory, using a model encased sand column that is embedded in a soft clay deposit. In addition to bearing stress-settlement response, detailed characterizations of the encased column, in terms of the distribution of lateral earth and sleeve-induced pressure along the column length, are determined. The numerically analyzed results are compared with those for the model tests and analytical results. Parametric studies over the encasement stiffness, the diameter of the granular column and the loading area are conducted to determine the influence of encasement on the column. The sleeve-induced confining pressure and the bearing stress of the encased sand columns, calculated using the cavity expansion theory and the simplified approach that assumes a constant volume for the granular column, are compared with the numerical results to justify the use of these two methods. The numerical results show that the stiffness of the encasement significantly affects the bulging length of an encased granular column. An increase in the column diameter or the loading area produces a significant reduction in the sleeve-induced confining pressure, which leads to a reduction in the bearing stress improvement of an encased granular column, but the total load supported by the loading plate has an almost linear relationship with the loading plate diameter/column diameter ratio.     

Centrifuge model tests on the deformation behavior of geosynthetic-encased stone column supported embankment under undrained condition

A series of centrifuge model tests were carried out to investigate the performance of geosynthetic-encased stone columns (GESCs) supported embankment under undrained condition. The influence of stiffness of encasement, basal reinforcement and embankment loading on the deformation behavior of GESCs were also assessed. The centrifuge test results reveal that under undrained condition, compared to ordinary stone column (OSC) supported embankment, the settlement of column has reduced by 50% and 34% when columns were encased with high and low stiffness geogrids respectively. Moreover, under identical embankment loading condition, the stress concentration ratio has increased significantly upon inclusion of basal reinforcement in the GESCs supported embankment. In case of OSCs supported embankment, columns experiences bulging in the top portion, inward bending in the central portion and a noticeable shear at the bottom portion. However, when columns were encased with geogrid layer, bulging in the top portion was significantly reduced but the inward bending of columns were noticed. With the inclusion of basal reinforcement, bending curvature of columns increases thereby inducing higher settlement in columns and relatively lesser settlement in surrounding soil. The differential settlement between the encased column and the surrounding soil under embankment loading has been considerably reduced with the inclusion of basal reinforcement.     

Quantifying the effects of geogrid reinforcement in unbound granular base

This study presents an effort to quantify the effects of geogrid reinforcement in the unbound granular base through laboratory testing. Two laboratory tests, the large-scale cyclic shear test and the repeated load triaxial test, were employed. The test protocol of the cyclic shear test was developed by modifying that for the triaxial test. The cyclic shear test was performed by applying a series of cyclic shear stresses to the geogrid-aggregate interface under different normal stresses. Two different types of geogrids were used as reinforcement in unbound granular material. Resilient modulus (M_R) from the repeated load triaxial test and a term named resilient interface shear modulus (G_i) from the cyclic shear test was used to characterize the effects of geogrid reinforcement in unbound granular base, respectively. The results of triaxial tests showed that the inclusion of geogrid had a negligible effect on the resilient modulus, indicating that the triaxial resilient modulus test may not be effective in evaluating the geogrid reinforcement in unbound granular materials. Compared to the triaxial resilient modulus test, the cyclic shear test showed great potential in identifying the effects of geogrid reinforcement, with an obvious improvement in the degree of interlocking between geogrids and aggregates.     

Microstructural investigation on mechanical behavior of soil-geosynthetic interface in direct shear test

Interface shear strength between soil and geosynthetics mainly depends on the mechanical and physical properties of soil, geosynthetics and the normal stress acting at the interface. This paper presents results of an extensive experimental investigation carried out on sand-geosynthetic interface using modified large direct shear box. The study focusses on the shearing mechanism at the sand-geosynthetic interface and the effect of different parameters on the shearing mechanism. Smooth HDPE geomembrane, nonwoven needle punched geotextile and two types of sand having different mean particle size, have been used in the present study. Microstructural investigation of deformed specimen through Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) reveals the shearing mechanism which includes interlocking and fiber stretching for sand-geotextile while sliding, indentation and plowing for sand-geomembrane interface. The shearing mechanism for sand-geomembrane interface highly depends on the normal stress and degree of saturation of sand. The critical normal stress that demarcates the sliding and plowing mechanism for sand-geomembrane interface is different for dry and wet sand. The amount of scouring (or plowing) of the geomembrane surface reduces with increase in the mean particle size of sand. FESEM images revealed that the sand particles get adhered to the geotextile fibers for tests involving wet sands. The present microstructural study aided in understanding the shearing mechanism at sand-geosynthetic interface to a large extent.     

Laboratory and numerical modeling of strip footing on geotextile-reinforced sand with cement-treated interface

This paper presents the results of a laboratory and numerical study on the effects of cement treatment of the interface between geotextile and sand on the bearing capacity of a foundation built on geotextile-reinforced sand. The bearing capacity of a 25 cm × 7.5 cm strip footing on a 90 cm × 25 cm × 30 cm sand box reinforced using a single-layer reinforcement of different lengths including, 20, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 cm, was studied in a laboratory. A cement-treated zone was created on the geotextile to improve the friction and adhesion of the interface zone. Tests were also conducted on reinforced soil without a cement-treated zone and the results were compared. A finite element model was calibrated and used for further studies. The results of the laboratory tests indicated that cement treatment of the interface between the geotextile and sand increases the bearing capacity of the foundation by 6%–17%, depending on the length of the reinforcement. The effectiveness of the cement-treated interface on improving of the bearing capacity is more evident with shorter-length reinforcements. For a certain bearing capacity, the required length of the reinforcement was reduced by approximately 40% when the interface zone of the sand and reinforcement was cement-treated. The effect of the cement-treated zone on the bearing capacity was more evident in low settlement levels, and decreased as the length of the reinforcement increased.     

Characterisation of permanent deformation behaviour of unbound granular materials under repeated triaxial loading

The present paper reports the results of a laboratory experiment that aimed to investigate the permanent deformation behaviour of two unbound granular materials for road subbase layers under repeated triaxial loading. In the first part of research the shakedown concept was used to classify the mechanical response of the granular mixtures. The obtained results confirmed the potential usefulness of this theoretical approach for ranking granular materials with regard to their rutting potential. The second part was entirely dedicated to the development of an analytical model to describe the long-term permanent deformation behaviour of these materials. The proposed model allowed permanent strain accumulation as function of the number of load applications and applied stress level to be described. The results, besides being consistent with the shakedown concept, showed the ability of the model to reflect the change in mechanical behaviour due to the different nature of materials, under specific stress and moisture condition. In addition, the model allowed the permanent deformation accumulation resistance of the material to be properly investigated through specific strain rate envelope curves defined on a Mohr-Coulomb diagram. Therefore, this study could propose an innovative and practical design approach for permanent deformation behaviour assessment of unbound granular material and consequently for evaluating its suitability in the pavement in order to avoid undesirable response.     

钢管混凝土柱受剪承载力试验

为建立钢管混凝土柱的受剪承载力计算式,完成了35根试件的静力加载试验。试件参数包括钢管壁厚、混凝土强度、剪跨比和轴压比。结果表明,剪跨比λ≤0.5施加轴压力的试件为剪切破坏,1.0≥λ>0.5施加轴压力的试件为剪弯破坏,λ≥0.5未施加轴压力的试件为弯曲破坏;试件有较大的变形能力;钢管混凝土柱的受剪承载力与轴压比、剪跨比有关。建立了由钢管、混凝土和轴压力三部分贡献组成的钢管混凝土柱受剪承载力计算公式,计算值与试验值符合较好,且偏于安全。     

Deformation analysis of geosynthetic-encased stone column using cavity expansion models with emphasis on boundary condition

This paper presents a modified theoretical model to predict the deformation of geosynthetic-encased stone column (GESC) and surrounding soil, using cylindrical cavity expansion model (CEM). The model was distinguished for single GESC and GESC in groups with emphasis on the different boundary conditions. The displacement boundary of CEM was used for GESC in groups, and the stress boundary of CEM was adopted for single GESC. The plasticity development of the soil obeying the Mohr-Coulomb yielding criterion was considered. The stress and settlement of the GESC were analyzed by radial stress and vertical stress equilibrium. This method has been verified via comparison with test data and numerical simulation results. The influences of applied loading, geosynthetic encasement stiffness, and soil stiffness on the mechanical performance of the GESC and the surrounding soil have also been investigated. The proposed theoretical approaches are suitable for predicting the deformation of the GESC, and the surrounding soil. The proposed method in unit cell analysis was more reasonable for GESC in groups.     

Influence of geosynthetic stiffness on bearing capacity of strip footings seated on thin reinforced granular layers over undrained soft clay

Thin granular fill layers are routinely used to aid the construction of shallow footings seated over undrained soft clay foundations and to increase their load capacity. The influence of time- and strain-dependent reduction in reinforcement stiffness on the bearing capacity and load-settlement response of a footing seated on a thin reinforced granular fill layer over undrained soft clay foundations is examined in this paper using finite-difference method (FDM) numerical models. The time- and strain-dependent stiffness of the reinforcement described by a two-component hyperbolic isochronous tensile load-strain model is shown to influence the bearing capacity and load-settlement response of the reinforced granular base scenario. The additional benefit of a reinforced granular layer diminishes as the time-dependent stiffness of the geosynthetic reinforcement increases. An analytical solution for the ultimate bearing capacity of strip footings seated on thin unreinforced and reinforced granular layers over undrained clay is proposed in this study. The main practical outcome from this study are tables of bearing capacity factors to be used with the analytical solution. The bearing capacity factors were back-calculated from the numerical analyses and account for the influence of rate-dependent properties of geogrid reinforcement materials and clay foundations with soft to very soft undrained shear strength.     

Seismic behavior and shear strength of tubed RC short columns

Reinforced concrete (RC) short columns are vulnerable to brittle shear failure during an earthquake. The objective of this research is to evaluate the performance enhancement of RC short columns tubed with circular or square tubes. Eight short columns were tested under combined constant axial load and cyclic lateral load. The tested specimens included three circular tubed RC (CTRC) columns and three square tubed RC (STRC) columns. Two common RC short columns including one circular RC column and one square RC column were also tested as control specimens. The test results indicated that common RC short columns suffered brittle shear failure with little ductility, while the ductility of tubed RC short columns was excellent due to the effective confinement of the outer thin tube to the core concrete. The lateral load strength of CTRC short columns increases with the increasing of axial load ratio, while the axial load ratio has little effect on the plastic deformation capacity of CTRC short columns. The shear strength increases with increasing of axial load ratio, while the plastic deformation capacity decreases with increasing of axial load ratio for STRC short columns. A circular tube prevents the core concrete from shear failure more effectively than a square tube for the tubed RC short columns. A modified ACI design method is adopted to calculate the nominal shear strength of STRC columns as well as CTRC columns based on the test and analysis results.