Strip Footing on Reinforced Granular Bed Using Geogrid and Bearing Reinforcement

Abstract

Numerous forms of reinforcement are available for the reinforcement of soil. It is established that the passive type of reinforcements is more advantageous than the frictional type. Bearing reinforcement (BR) is a passive type of reinforcement. Bearing reinforcement (BR) is considered a cost-effective earth reinforcement. In the present study, there will be no bearing members beneath the footing, and all bearing members are considered beyond the edges of the footing. Available literature refers to the use of bearing reinforcement largely in Mechanically Stability Earth (MSE) walls. Earlier, researchers have numerically simulated bearing reinforcement as a frictional reinforcement with enhanced frictional resistance. In this paper, the results of numerical studies (using PLAXIS 2D) made of a strip footing resting on soil strata consisting of reinforced granular fill [with BR or frictional reinforcement] or granular fill without reinforcement, overlying clay, are being presented. It is seen that bearing reinforcement (BR) is effective when the length of reinforcement is more than 6B. The reinforcements are considered to be sandwiched in the upper granular layer. It has been observed that the bearing capacity is influenced by the presence of reinforcement and also settlements are significantly reduced. Reinforcement of length 6B shows better performance compared to 2B and 4B for the permissible limit of settlement. The ground shows better performance when the reinforcement is provided at the center of the granular bed when compared to reinforcement located at the interface of the granular bed and clay layer. The load intensity increases with the thickness of the granular bed. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.