Numerical analysis of soil reinforcement using geocell infilled with quarry dust powder

Abstract

Massive urbanisation and infrastructural development caused by the growing population have taken place during the last decades. This means that in a rapidly expanding world economy we are running out of land. This problem has led to the use of ground improvement techniques to enhance the usability of land masses that were once not considered suitable for the development of infrastructure. Geocell is an innovative soil stabilisation product for civil engineering and development of infrastructures. They are cell containment systems which have been produced as an easy and durable material to stabilise and protect the compaction of the soil. The environmental concern regarding the disposability of quarry dust powder (QDP), produced from production units of M-sand (Manufactured sand), is of concern to the environment. The statement that is "waste of one industry should become the raw material for another" and that drawback can be addressed effectively by using it to improve the geotechnical characteristics of the weak soil. The purpose of this study is to find the optimal geocell-layer geometry and optimum combination of QDP infills to produce less settlement at a particular load using PLAXIS 2D software. The characteristics that have been varied are quarry dust powder in infill, geocell material and frequency of loading. These parameters were used for simulations to study the response of load vs settlements and the FOS of the slope. The FOS on the slope on the terrain was found to be 4.5, a steady slope. An optimised reinforcing mattress was ultimately found out.