Lessons from Full-Scale Experiments on Piled Embankments with Different Geosynthetic Reinforcements

초록

Geosynthetic-reinforced piled embankments (GRPEs) are very complex structures with three differently behaving inclusions; i.e., piles, geosynthetics and soils. Very careful experiments are needed to investigate the behaviors of these GRPEs. In this study, the results of full-scale experiments conducted on GRPEs with three different geosynthetic reinforcements (GRs) and on an unreinforced piled embankment (PE) are presented. In the experiments, the vertical load transported towards the model piles and the vertical displacements of the soft foam layer underneath the reinforced embankment were measured and compared with the calculation results obtained by the concentric arches model used in the Netherlands. The vertical loads measured in the unreinforced PE and one GRPE agree well with the theoretical values. However, those measured in the two other GRPEs were significantly lower than the theoretically predicted values. It was concluded that these discrepancies were caused by two weak points in the execution of the experiments: inappropriate GR fixating at the sides of the model in combination with significant unexpected compaction in the soft foam layer that originated from the compaction procedure. These factors should be considered carefully in future experimental research to attain a better understanding of the behaviors of GRPEs.

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