Frictional Pullout Resistance and Settlement Criteria ofReinforced soil system

Abstract

An analytical approach, adopted to find the frictional pullout resistance and
settlement of foundations resting on reinforced soil based on the test results of circular
footing and site data from plate bearing tests (PLT) for in-situ testing of (PLT) with a
diameter of ( 0.75m) , is summarized. The soil was reinforced using biaxial geomesh. The
settlement was determined by considering the compatibility of strain (settlement) between
soil and reinforcement element underneath the foundation. Empirical equations were used
to estimate the settlement either from the superstructure loads or from in-situ plate load
tests on the reinforced soil system, while the frictional pullout resistance of reinforcement
calculated and compared with test results based on the new empirical equation. The study
concerned two different types of geomesh(CE111 and CE121). It was found that initial
horizontal and vertical movement of the reinforcement is needed to mobilize the reinforcing
strength. Further, the initial settlement at small loads could be avoided when the
reinforcement was placed closer to the base of the footing (U<< B/2) and there was an
improvement in the bearing capacity value of the footing. When the reinforcement is placed
away from the base of the footing, the initial settlement decreased with a slight
improvement in the bearing capacity compared with that of un-reinforced soil. Nondimensional
factors were developed for the settlement and frictional pullout resistance
based on the experimental site test results.