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Field Monitoring of Geogrid-Reinforced and Pile-Supported Embankment at Bridge Approach

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Abstract

Owing to the growing traffic demands, many embankments have to be constructed on very soft soil. To improve the undesirable geotechnical properties of the soft soil, the geogrid-reinforced and pile-supported (GRPS) embankments are gradually gaining a great reputation as a reliable and cost-effective treatment for time-limited construction projects or complicated geological conditions. This paper describes an in-situ monitoring of the GRPS embankments with three different pile spacings at the bridge approach over the soft soil foundation. The earth pressures and the settlements both on top of the pile caps and the soil surface around the piles, the pore water pressures, and the lateral displacements of the foundation soil were recorded during and after the filling stage. Based on the important measurement data within 280 days, the behaviors of the GRPS system were monitored and discussed in detail. The monitoring data revealed that the measured earth pressures acting on top of the pile caps were 9.56–16.03 times greater than those acting on the soil surface around the piles, reducing simultaneously the excess pore water pressures in the foundation soil. The measured settlements and the lateral displacements of the soil were relatively stable and gradually converged after about 140 days. The stability of the embankments was significantly strengthened by the GRPS technology. Moreover, the change of the pile spacings made the pavement smoother. As a result, an acceptable treatment effect was achieved for vehicle bump at the bridge approach.

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Acknowledgements

This research work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41672264), and the Key Research and Development Program of Zhejiang Province (Grant No. 2019C03103). The authors would also like to thank Mr. Hechun Song and Mr. Xiaoguang Pan for their constant support during our in-situ monitoring.

Funding

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41672264), the Key Research and Development Program of Zhejiang Province (Grant No. 2019C03103).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center of Coastal and Urban Geotechnical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

    Suyang Feng, Riqing Xu, Jianlin Yu & Kang Cheng

  2. Engineering Research Center of Urban Underground Development of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China

    Suyang Feng, Riqing Xu, Jianlin Yu & Kang Cheng

  3. China Road and Bridge Corporation, Beijing, China

    Chao Zhang

Authors
  1. Suyang Feng
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  2. Riqing Xu
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  3. Jianlin Yu
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  4. Chao Zhang
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  5. Kang Cheng
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Contributions

SF, RX, and JY conceived and designed the field monitoring. SF and CZ performed the field monitoring. JY and KC analyzed the data. SF prepared the original draft of the manuscript. RX and JY reviewed and edited the manuscript. RX contributed significantly to the funding acquisition. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jianlin Yu.

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Feng, S., Xu, R., Yu, J. et al. Field Monitoring of Geogrid-Reinforced and Pile-Supported Embankment at Bridge Approach. Int. J. of Geosynth. and Ground Eng. 7, 2 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40891-020-00248-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40891-020-00248-5

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