GEOSYNTHETIC-REINFORCED

EMBANKMENTS ON SOFT FOUNDATIONS

Presented by: K.Narendra

203114019

Soft soil properties

Very High Compressibility and moisture content
varies from 60-100%
Very low permeability (10-5 mm/sec - 10-8
mm/sec).
Normally consolidated & in-situ shear strength
varies from 7-20 kPa.
Fine soil having very low undrained shear
strength and plastic. In which failure occurs at
an undrained condition within a short period
after the embankment construction.

Stability of an embankment on soft

clay depends on the following
parameters.

Height of embankment
Base width of embankment
Depth of soft clay
Shear strength of soft clay
Failures can occur in
embankments of very low heights say 1m
to 1.5 m when clay is having poor shear
strength or Embankment is having very
restricted base width.
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Failure patterns
Embankments on soft soils :
Foundation extrusion
Rotational failure
Lateral sliding
Overall failure

1. FOUNDATION EXTRUSION

2. ROTATIONAL FAILURE

3. LATERAL SLIDING

4. OVERALL FAILURE

APPLICATION OF GEOSYNTHETICS
FOR GROUND IMPROVEMENT

Geosynthetic reinforcement
A high strength and stiff reinforcement layer
at the fill base can be used in order to
improve embankment stability.

Effects due to use of reinforcement

layer:

To increase the safety-factors against

catastrophic failure.
To control partially differential settlements.
It does not limit the magnitude of overall
settlements.
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Working principle
Reinforcement forms a geosynthetic raft &
transfers the load
the directly to the soil or
Indirectly through sand piles, stone
columns and pile foundations to deeper
soil.
The reinforcement also
counteracts the horizontal thrust of
embankment fill and need for raking piles 12

Contribution of Reinforcement for stability of

Embankment

By placing a stiff reinforcement layer at the

embankment base, Safety Factors for the
following types of failures can be improved
1. Foundation Bearing/Extrusion Stability
2. Rotation Stability of Embankment Fill
3. Sliding Stability of Embankment Fill
4. Overall Stability

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Force in
reinforcement

End of construction

Consolidation of soft
soil

Time

The load in the reinforcement increases

to a maximum value during
construction.
As the foundation is undergoing
consolidation, the load transfers from
reinforcement to foundation.
When the foundation has consolidated it
carries all of the embankment load ,the
reinforcement is no longer required. 15

Geo synthetic reinforcement

along with other techniques
of ground improvement

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1. GEOTEXTILE REINFORCEMENT +
PILES
C
L
Gabion Thrust Block

Embankment Fill
Pile Caps

Geosynthetic H

Highly Compressible
Soft Soil

End Bearing Piles

Through Soft Material
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REINFORCEMENT
LAYER+PILE FOUNDATION

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Pile foundations are used to carry and transfer the

load of the structure to the bearing ground located
at more depth below ground surface.
So they are used in such cases where the
foundation soil is not able to take the structure load
at all and ground improvement is either not
possible or is more expensive than pile foundations.

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2. Reinforcement layer+ Stone columns

The stone column technique also known as
vibro-replacement or vibro-displacement.
These columns result in increased vertical
load carrying capacity and improved shear
resistance in the soil mass.
For soils with appreciable silt or clay content
that do not respond to deep vibratory
compaction it is advantageous to create
stiff reinforcing elements in the soil mass.

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REINFORCEMENT LAYER +STONE

COLUMNS

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3.GEOTEXTILE REINFORCEMENT+ PVD

PVDs band shaped (rectangular shaped)
material consisting synthetic geotextile jacket
surrounding inner plastic core.
Jackets are of non woven polyester or
polypropylene
geotextile.

Functions of filter jacket

To prevent soil particles and allow water to
flow in
To provide the cover to internal drain flow i.e.
function of filter jacket mainly filtration, to
some extent separation
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Functions of the core:

To provide internal flow path for water
along the drain
To provide support to filter jacket
To provide the resistance to longitudinal
stretching as well as buckling of the drain
Effects:
To accelerate settlements i.e
advancement of the expected
settlements
To reduce time for consolidation
To avoid Post Construction Settlements
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REINFORCEMENT LAYER + PVD

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Advantages of Using Geosynthetic

Reinforcement for Ground Improvement
Easy and Rapid construction is possible
over weak soil
Improved load carrying capacity
Better drainage arrangement can be
Provided
Cost effective if compared to conventional
solution

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Conclusion
Construction of embankments on soft soil
can be critical because of they have low
strength & high compressibility.
Reinforcement material can be placed at
foundation level to improve stability of
embankments on Soft Soil.

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THANK YOU

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