Effect of geogrid reinforcement on soft and medium dense soils

Abstract

The field tests were carried out to examine the reinforcement effect of a geogrid on various conditions of embankment height, the number of passages of vibratory roller, the number of reinforced layer of geogrid, and soil properties. The test results of the dynamic earth pressure indicate that the soil reinforced by geogrid is very effective to increase the stiffness of soil, especially in soft soil. The dynamic earth pressure ratio, which is defined as the ratio of dynamic earth pressure to self weight of soils, exponentially decreases as the embankment height increases. The dynamic earth pressure ratio increases up to 80% for soft soils reinforced by both one layer of geogrid in place of no reinforced soils and two layers in place of a single layer of geogrid.

Keywords

dynamic earth pressure / geogrid / reinforced soils / repetitive loading

References

[1] ChanF., BarksdaleR. D., BrownS. F.. Aggregate base reinforcement of surfaced pavements [J]. Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 1989, 8(3): 165-189

[2] GiroudJ. P., NoirayL.. Geotextile-reinforced unpaved road design [J]. Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, ASCE, 1981, 107(9): 1233-1254

[3] KoernerR. M., SoongT. Y.. Geosynthetic reinforced segmental retaining walls [J]. Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 2001, 19(6): 359-386

[4] LingH. I., LiuZ.. Performance of geosynthetic-reinforced asphalt pavements [J]. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, 2001, 127(2): 177-184

[5] LoveJ. P., BurdH. J., MilliganW. E., HoulsbyG. T.. Analytical and model studies of reinforcement of a layer of granular fill on a soft clay subgrade [J]. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, London, 1987, 24(4): 611-622

[6] AlawajiH. A.. Settlement and bearing capacity of geogrid-reinforced sand over collapsible soil [J]. Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 2001, 19(2): 75-88

[7] HaeriS. M., NoorzadR., OskoorouchiA. M.. Effect of geotextile reinforcement on the mechanical behavior of sand [J]. Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 2000, 18(6): 385-402

[8] MaherM. H., HoY. C.. Behavior of fiber-reinforced cemented sand under static and cyclic loads [J]. Geotechnical Testing Journal, ASCE, 1993, 16(3): 330-338

[9] GrayD. H., PhashiH.. Mechanics of fiber reinforcement in sand [J]. Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, ASCE, 1983, 109(3): 335-353

[10] DELMAS P H, MATICHARD Y, GOURE J P, RIONDY G. Unsurfaced roads reinforced by geotextiles — A seven years experiment [C]// Proc 3rd Int Conf on Geotextiles. Vienna, 1986: 141–146

[11] HoltzR. D., SivakuganK.. Design charts for roads with geotextiles [J]. Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 1987, 5(3): 191-200

[12] RoweR. K., LiA. L.. Reinforced embankments over soft foundations under undrained and partially drained conditions [J]. Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 1999, 17(3): 129-146

[13] WEBSTER S L, ALFORD S J. Investigation of construction concepts for pavements across soft ground [R]. United States Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss. 1978. S-78-6.

[14] AshmawyA. K., BourdeauP. L.. Geosynthetic-reinforced soils under repeated loading: A review and comparative design study [J]. Geosynthetics International., 1995, 2(4): 643-678

[15] ASHMAWY A K, BOURDEAU P L. Testing and analysis of geotextile-reinforced soil under cyclic loading [C]// Proc Conf Geosynthetics. Long Beach, California, USA. 1997: 663–674.

[16] AshmawyA. K., BourdeauP. L., DrnevichV. P., DysliM.. Cyclic response of geotextile-reinforced soil [J]. Soils and Foundations., 1999, 39(1): 43-52

[17] DOUGLAS R A. Parametric study of the stiffness of unbound geosynthetic-built roads on compressible subgrades [C]// Proc 44th Canadian Geotech Conf. Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 1991: 80-1–80-7.

[18] UnnikrishnanN., RajagopalL., KrishnaswamyN. R.. Behavior of reinforced clay under monotonic and cyclic loading [J]. Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 2002, 20(2): 117-133