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Experimental and Numerical Modeling of Bearing Capacity of Foundations on Soft Clay Stabilized with Granular Material

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Abstract

Over-excavation and replacement are the most commonly used ground modification techniques for shallow foundations. In soft soils, however, the extent of replacement by relatively larger (up to 19 mm) granular material was unknown. A total of 97 tests, consisting of 10 small and 87 numerical model tests, were carried out on two types of foundations, namely strip, and square. The width W and the depth of the replaced zone H were varied in each test and the ultimate bearing capacity qu was calculated. The experimental and numerical analyses were compared by computing qu from two methods (tangent intersection method (TIM) and 0.1B method). The improvement in qu was plotted as the dimensionless factor bearing capacity ratio (BCR) vs. depth ratio H/B for each foundation. A significant increase in BCR was observed from H/B of 1.5 to 4 for strip foundation and 2.5 to 3 for a square foundation. There was an insignificant increase in BCR after H/B of 4 and 3 for strip and square foundations, respectively. The width of the replacement was recommended as 2B for square foundations, while no value was suggested for strip foundation owing to a steady increase in the BCR. In addition, it has been observed that the depth of replacement is a major component in improving the bearing capacity compared to the width of replacement.

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All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan

    Zahra Bashir Malik, Badee Alshameri, Syed Muhammad Jamil & Daanyal Umar

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  1. Zahra Bashir Malik
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  2. Badee Alshameri
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Contributions

The main idea was conceptualized by ZBM and SMJ, while the methodology was defined by ZBM and BA. The material was collected by ZBM. The experimental part was implemented by ZBM with the help of DU under the supervision of BA. The original draft was prepared by ZBM with help of DU. The review of the manuscript was done by BA. The overall work was carried out under the supervision of BA and SMJ.

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Correspondence to Badee Alshameri.

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The manuscript of this paper, even with a minor overlap with text, research objectives, presentation of research data, figures/photographs, tables, research findings, conclusions, etc., has not been submitted to any other journal for simultaneous consideration. Also, no part of this paper manuscript has been published earlier by me/us and others at any publication platform (technical journal, conference proceedings, magazine, newspaper, etc.). The details as reported in this paper are truly my/our unpublished original research work in all aspects.

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Malik, Z.B., Alshameri, B., Jamil, S.M. et al. Experimental and Numerical Modeling of Bearing Capacity of Foundations on Soft Clay Stabilized with Granular Material. Int. J. of Geosynth. and Ground Eng. 7, 91 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40891-021-00334-2

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