Experimental Investigation of Soil-Arching Development in Unreinforced and Geosynthetic-Reinforced Pile-Supported Embankments
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 145, Issue 1
Abstract
Soil arching is one of the most important mechanisms in piled embankments. To investigate the development of soil arching in piled embankments, 14 unreinforced and 8 geosynthetic-reinforced model tests were carried out using a two-dimensional (2D) multitrapdoor test setup with analogical soil. This study revealed that basal geosynthetic reinforcement changed the three deformation patterns into two development patterns with concentric elliptical arches under the same conditions. The stress reduction ratios (defined as the ratio of the average pressure on the trapdoor at a certain settlement to the initial pressure on the trapdoor at zero settlement) corresponding to the three deformation patterns in the unreinforced tests were distinctively different. The change of the stress reduction ratio during the settlement of the subsoil also showed how basal reinforcement affected soil arching in piled embankments. The geosynthetic with lower tensile stiffness resulted in more soil arching than that with higher tensile stiffness.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51208403), the Natural Science Foundation of the Hubei Province (Grant No. 2016CFB469), the Hubei Chenguang Talented Youth Development Foundation, and the Science and Technology Planning Project of the Wuhan Urban Construction Commission (Grant No. 201639). Their support is gratefully acknowledged.
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Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 145 • Issue 1 • January 2019
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©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 26, 2017
Accepted: Jul 26, 2018
Published online: Nov 15, 2018
Published in print: Jan 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Apr 15, 2019
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