Abstract

Geosynthetic-encased stone column (GESC) has been proved as an effective alternative to reinforcing soft marine clay soils with low undrained shear strength. In this paper, three-dimensional (3-D) coupled mechanical and hydraulic modeling based on centrifugal model test was carried out to investigate the performance of GESC-supported embankment over soft clay with two different stiffness of encasement (i.e., 450 kN/m and 3300 kN/m). The numerical modeling results agree well with the centrifugal model test recordings. This investigation reveals that with the increase in the geogrid stiffness the differential settlement between the GESC and the surrounding soft marine clay soil was found to increase. Under the embankment load, the encased columns located below the embankment slope have experienced significant vertical and lateral stress ratio. Moreover, columns below the embankment slope tend to experience significant hoop strain below the top of the column.

摘要

土工合成材料包裹的石柱 (GESC) 已被证明是增强不排水抗剪强度低的软海粘土的有效替代方法。在本文中，基于离心模型试验的三维（3-D）耦合机械和水力建模进行了研究 GESC 支持的路堤在软粘土上的性能，具有两种不同的外壳刚度（即 450 kN/m和 3300 kN/m）。数值模拟结果与离心模型试验记录非常吻合。该调查表明，随着土工格栅刚度的增加，发现 GESC 与周围软质海相粘土之间的差异沉降增加。在路堤荷载作用下，位于路堤边坡下方的围柱承受了显着的竖向和侧向应力比。