Effect of Vertical Reinforcement on Settlement and Displacement in Reinforced Soil Under a Three-Dimensional Framed Structure

Abstract

Soil reinforcement is a technique for improving the mechanical properties of soil. In recent years, the use of reinforced soils has increased widely due to its satisfactory performance and cost effectiveness. Many studies have been carried out on reinforced soil with conventional horizontal reinforcement. The main disadvantage of horizontal alignment of reinforcement is that it requires large-scale excavation of soil, which destroys the strength of soil developed over the years and is also expensive. In this research, studies have been carried out on soil reinforced with vertical reinforcement by considering soil–structure interaction. For this purpose, a four-storey three-dimensional frame structure with isolated footing resting on both un-reinforced and reinforced soil has been considered. Soil has been reinforced with HYSD bars of Fe 500 grade and reinforcement is provided only below footings. The frame section and soil continuum have been modelled and analysed using finite element-based software program SAP2000. The size of the soil mass considered is 153 m × 95 m × 20 m. Parametric studies have been carried out by varying reinforcement length and reinforcement spacing. The study revealed that the displacements in soil can be reduced by the inclusion of vertical reinforcement. Settlement is reduced in the range of 4.45–16.79%. Horizontal displacement along longitudinal and transverse direction is reduced in the range of 7.37% to 26.31% and 8% to 33.24%, respectively. Differential settlement in reinforced soil is reduced by 30.34% when compared with that of un-reinforced soil.