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Load transfer mechanism of geotextile-reinforced sand layer over semirigid column-improved soft soil

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Abstract

Many design guidelines have been proposed for piled embankments, most of which consider piles or columns as rigid inclusions. In this study, a small-scale physical model test was performed to investigate the load transfer mechanism of a geotextile-reinforced sand layer over a soft subsoil improved by semirigid columns. A multi-stage load was applied at the top of the sand layer until the columns started to yield. When the columns yielded, a reverse load transfer was observed. Vertical stresses were measured and analyzed in terms of efficacy and stress reduction ratio (SRR) with a comparison of existing design guidelines for assessing soil arching. Among the reviewed guidelines, the approach recommended by the Dutch guidelines provided the closest results to the experimental data, whereas the one adopted by the American guidelines predicted well the change in efficacy and SRR under different surcharge loads. However, the load transfer mechanism after the yielding of columns is beyond the scope of the existing design guidelines. In addition, it was found through regression analysis that the increment of vertical stresses on columns and surrounding soil followed an inclined line under partially undrained conditions during loading stages and a curve during consolidation.

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Acknowledgements

The work in this paper is supported by a Research Impact Fund (RIF) project (R5037-18) and three General Research Fund (GRF) projects (PolyU 15210020; PolyU 15210322; PolyU 15226722) from Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government of China. The authors also acknowledge the financial support from Research Institute for Land and Space of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and three grants (CD82, CD7A) from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

    Pei-Chen Wu, Jian-Hua Yin & Shu-Ran Huang

  2. College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China

    Wen-Bo Chen

  3. Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China

    Wei-Qiang Feng

  4. Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Ltd (a Former Postdoctoral Fellow in Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University), Hong Kong, China

    Tsz-On Ho

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  1. Pei-Chen Wu
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Wu, PC., Chen, WB., Feng, WQ. et al. Load transfer mechanism of geotextile-reinforced sand layer over semirigid column-improved soft soil. Acta Geotech. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-023-02213-8

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