Laboratory Study on the Performance of Geosynthetic Reinforced Sand Bed

Abstract

Layout and configuration of reinforcement play a vital role in improvement of geosynthetic reinforced foundation soil. In the present study, laboratory performance of square footing resting on geosynthetic reinforced sand bed of given density is analyzed. The configuration of the reinforcement is altered by varying parameters such as number of reinforcing layers and vertical spacing of reinforcement. The concept of pressure bulb is used while designing the layout of reinforcement. By this method, breadth of the reinforcement varies with depth corresponding to the breadth of pressure bulb at the particular depth. The effect of breadth of reinforcement is compared in every case by providing uniform breadth of reinforcement. Aluminum angles are used as anchors in the reinforcement. Presence of anchors improves the foundation soil by the development of passive resistance. The rate of improvement is studied by varying the position and height of anchors. It is observed that, reinforcement increases the bearing capacity and reduces the settlement at a particular load. Providing reinforcement breadth with respect to pressure bulb gives comparable results with the reinforcement of uniform breadth. The influence of breadth of reinforcement is more pronounced in case of single layer of reinforcement. The improvement in bearing capacity is about 2.8 times with the inclusion of reinforcement and about 3.9 times with the inclusion of anchors. By the inclusion of anchors at various positions, a layer of reinforcement can be reduced.