Evaluation of Settlement and Bearing Capacity of Embankment on Soft Soil With Reinforced Geogrids

Abstract

The growth of population around the world requires establishment of many projects. For that, different techniques were established to improve the soft soil lands. One of the most widely used techniques for improving soft soil is the stone columns. In this paper, the work is conducted depending on the laboratory test for the soft soil reinforced with ordinary stone columns beneath embankment model. Analysis was done using Plaxis 3D finite element program to evaluate the settlement and bearing capacity and improving the soft soil beneath the embankment. The analysis was done for two cases with the condition of length to diameter of stone columns L\d = 8. The first case was using one and two horizontal geogrid layers in the embankment at 0.5h and 0.67h compared to the case of without using of the horizontal geogrids layers, for different numbers of ordinary stone columns OSCs (seven, eight and nine). The second case used the same number of geogrid layers and OSCs with different applied loads (10, 15 and 20) kN. The results obtained from the first case reduced the settlement for the seven 5% and 9% and 11% for eight and nine, OSCs respectively, compared to the case of without used of geogrid layers for the same numbers of OSCs. For the second case, the reduction of settlement which leads to increase in bearing capacity influenced in the use of two horizontal geogrid layers for the load of 20 kN by 29%, 16% and 18% for seven, eight and nine OSCs, respectively.