Performance and Application of Geocell Reinforced Sand Embankment under Static and Cyclic Loading

Abstract

As reinforcement material, geocells are widely used in various types of embankment reinforcement. A lot of practical experience shows that geocell reinforced embankment has good reinforcement effect, but the theoretical research lags behind the engineering practice, and the reinforcement mechanism under cyclic loading under various reinforcement conditions needs to be further studied. In this paper, the reasonable reinforcement condition of geocell reinforced embankment under static and cyclic loading is proposed by using a physical model and numerical simulation comparative analysis method. The research findings include: under cyclic loading, the inhibition effect of the number of reinforced layers on the vertical cumulative settlement is better than that under static loading, but the effect of two-layer reinforcement and three-layer reinforcement is relatively close, and both can reduce the vertical settlement by more than 40%. The inhibition effect of the increase of geocell height on the horizontal deformation of slope surface is better than that of the decrease of welding spacing under cyclic loading, and the reinforcement effect of the middle and upper part of embankment is better. Increasing the height of geocell and reducing the welding spacing can improve the limit bearing capacity of embankment, and the former is better. The optimal reinforcement condition of sandy soil embankment under cyclic loading obtained from the comparative analysis is case 3, that is, the reinforced layers is 2, the geocell height is 10 mm, and the welding distance is 50 mm.

Study on Mechanical Performance and Reinforcement Mechanisms of Geocell-Reinforced Soil

“…As shown in Figure 4, the dry densities of filled soil obtained from the moisture-density tests are 1.62, 1.71, 1.78, 1.68, and 1.55g/cm 3 for the water content levels of 11%, 13%, 15%, 17%, and 19%, respectively. This leads to an optimum water content level of 15% for filled soil, which corresponds to its maximum dry density of 1.78 g/ cm 3 . Other mechanical parameters of filled soil involved in this study, according to the in situ test data on the soil side, are summarized in Table 2.…”

Experimental Investigations on the Tensile Mechanical Behavior of HDPE Geocell Strip

“…As a new three-dimensional honeycomb-shaped reinforcement material, geocells are widely used in various engineering constructions, such as watercourses [1], foundations [2,3], embankments [4][5][6], and in slope protection [7,8] due to their significant economic advantages and successful performance. Compared with planar reinforcement materials, such as geogrids and geotextiles, geocells can provide better confinement [9][10][11] for infill materials, such as coarse sand and gravel, to enhance the bearing capacity and stability of the structure.…”