In Situ Testing of Square Footing Resting on Geobelt-Reinforced Gravel Thin Cushion on Soft Silt

Abstract

A series of in situ static loading tests of square footing were carried out on the geobelt-reinforced gravel cushion on soft silt. The reinforced gravel cushion was thin with the depth-to-width ratio of 0.2. A parameters study was conducted by considering the number of geobelt layers, the depth of the first geobelt layer beneath the footing, the vertical spacing between two geobelt layers, the linear density of reinforcement, and the material type of geobelt. The pressure distribution on bottom of the cushion was measured. The test results showed that the bearing capacity of reinforced gravel cushion was significantly larger than that of unreinforced gravel cushion, and the stress diffusion effect of reinforced gravel cushion was also more pronounced than that of the unreinforced cushion. The pressure distribution on bottom of reinforced gravel cushion was in a saddle shape. According to calculation and analysis, the stress diffusion angles of reinforced cushions were all larger than 20°.