Influence of Relative Density of Soil on Performance of Geocell-Reinforced Sand Foundations
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 22, Issue 5
Abstract
The paper brings out the influence of relative density of foundation soil on performance improvement of geocell reinforcement; through model load tests on geocell-reinforced and unreinforced sand beds. Tests were carried out for five different relative densities of sand (30, 40, 50, 60, and 70%). The test results indicate that the beneficial effect of geocell reinforcement, in terms of increase in stiffness, bearing capacity, and load dispersion angle of the foundation bed, is present over a wide range of relative density; however, it is higher for dense condition of foundation soil. With geocell reinforcement offering three-dimensional confinement, the dilation induced benefit is substantially high for dense soil fill. Therefore, for effective utilization of geocell reinforcement, the foundation soil should be compacted to higher density.
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Acknowledgments
The financial support for this work from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, is gratefully acknowledged. The writer is thankful to Professor K. Rajagopal for his valuable comments and suggestions.
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© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Apr 21, 2009
Accepted: Aug 24, 2009
Published online: Apr 15, 2010
Published in print: May 2010
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