3d Numerical Analysis of Bearing Capacity of Square Foundations on Geogrid Reinforced Soil

Abstract

Results of numerical simulations on square footing supported by reinforced and unreinforced sand bed are presented and discussed. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of geogrid layers in improving the bearing capacity of the square footings and to study the influence of different parameters such as the width and embedment depth of the foundation, on the overall performance improvement of the footing. The optimum values of reinforcement parameters (such as vertical spacing between top layer of reinforcement and bottom of the foundation, the width of the reinforcement layers, the distance between consecutive reinforcement layers and the depth of reinforcement zone) have been obtained from previous experimental studies, and was applied in numerical modeling. The results of the numerical simulations are compared with the experimental and analytical results published by different authors. It was found that with increasing the width and embedment depth of the foundation, the rate of increment of bearing capacity due to reinforcing with geogrid, was reduced.