Load-settlement analysis of geosynthetic-reinforced soil with a simplified model

Abstract

Using a simplified model, the load-settlement behaviour of a geosynthetic-reinforced soil is formulated. The model and formulation are flexible to accommodate inhomogeneity of the medium and multiple reinforcement layers with no or very little extra computational effort. The developed formulation is verified by using the finite element method and is confirmed to be efficient and convenient for computation. Compared with the previous simplified soil model, the present model can be defined uniquely by soil material properties alone and has an adequate mechanism to reproduce the behaviour of a continuous medium including the shear load transfer. A previous simplified model was found to be inadequate for deep soft soil. Also, it was found that at relatively large load levels, multiple reinforcement layers are as effective as a combination of a single reinforcement layer and gravel layer in reducing the settlement.