Numerical Investigation of Square Footing Positioned on Geocell Reinforced Sand By Using Abaqus Software

Abstract The usage of geocell reinforcement for foundations supported on weak soil has been increased these days. The purposed study uses FEM-based ABAQUS software to analyse the behaviour of square footing supported on geocell reinforced sands subjected to static vertical loading. Numerical analysis was performed to find the optimum combination of the different geometric parameters of the geocell reinforcement. Three distinct types of sands were employed in the study with relative densities of 30%, 50%, and 70%. The geometric parameters of the geocell, such as the placement depth of geocell (u), the width (b), and the height (h) of the geocell, were modified in relation to the footing width (B) to access the optimum combination ratios. The inclusion of the geocell reinforcement increases the load-carrying capacity up to 5-6 times compared to unreinforced sand. The results obtained from the numerical analysis were intended to correlate well with the experimental data available in the literature.