Performance of an Embankment Foundation with Sand over Clay: Experimental and Numerical Analyses
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 17, Issue 6
Abstract
To efficiently control postconstruction settlement (PCS) of a high-speed railway embankment on sand over soft clay, a study was conducted to analyze the performance of the embankment foundation treated by one of two methods; that is, only the clay was treated by jet grouting pile (JP foundation), or only the sand was treated by dynamic compaction (DC foundation). Two-dimensional coupled mechanical and hydraulic analysis was conducted using the finite-element method, and the measured and simulated results were compared. This study analyzed mainly performance of the JP foundation involving settlement during construction, PCS, and the soil arching effect related to differential settlement between the pile and soil, vertical effective stress, and the overall efficiency coefficient. Settlement of the DC foundation is also discussed. The results show that during construction, sand of the JP foundation produced a large settlement but became stable under loading of the embankment fill. Settlement of the DC foundation during early construction was reduced significantly compared with that of the JP foundation, but deep sand and clay still produced a large settlement. PCS of the JP foundation was controlled effectively, whereas PCS of the DC foundation was controlled almost completely ineffectively. The soil arching effect took place in the JP foundation because of the differential settlement between piles and soil, the major portion of the additional effective stress was supported by the piles, and the overall efficiency coefficients reached 0.5 at the end of construction and 0.74 at the end of consolidation.
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Acknowledgments
The research described in this paper was financially supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 51578033). The authors acknowledge the help rendered by China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Co., Ltd., in supplying partial financial support and with field test sections.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 17 • Issue 6 • June 2017
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 11, 2016
Accepted: Sep 19, 2016
Published online: Nov 8, 2016
Discussion open until: Apr 8, 2017
Published in print: Jun 1, 2017
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