Analytical Solution for Reinforced Piled Embankments on Elastoplastic Consolidated Soil
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 17, Issue 9
Abstract
The reinforced piled embankment has been widely used in highway and high-speed railway because it is effective in reducing total and differential settlement. This paper presents an analytical solution for estimating the settlement of pile and soil and the distribution of skin friction and the neutral plane of the pile in the reinforced piled embankment over elastoplastic consolidated soil. The soft soils were assumed to be elastic-plastic materials with settlement calculations as determined by one-dimensional nonlinear consolidation theory. The load-transfer mechanisms accounting for soil arching and tensioned-membrane effects on the reinforcement and pile–soil interaction (skin friction along the pile), considering soil consolidation, were comprehensively investigated. The analytical solution was validated by three case studies and was shown to be a reliable method with acceptable accuracy with predictions overestimating the measurement by approximately 10%. The maximum settlement of soil was found to increase with increasing pile spacing while the soil constrained modulus decreased. The soil constrained modulus was a much more sensitive factor of influence on the maximum settlement of the soil than was the pile spacing.
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Acknowledgments
The financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 51478166), the financial support sponsored by Qing Lan Project, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grants 2015B17814, 2016B20614, 2016B04414, and 2015B25914), and the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, State Education Ministry, are acknowledged.
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© 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Apr 28, 2015
Accepted: Feb 2, 2017
Published online: May 11, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Oct 11, 2017
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