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Numerical Study on the Behaviour of Geocell-Reinforced Sand Layer Overlying Soft Clay Subgrade

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Abstract

This study presents the load-carrying capacity of the square footing placed on the geocell-reinforced sand layer overlying soft clay subgrade by using finite element analysis. A detailed numerical analysis was performed by considering various parameters such as the thickness of the sand layer overlying soft clay subgrade (H), height of the geocell layer (h), relative density of the sand layer (Rd), pocket-size of geocell (p), and stiffness of the geocell (K) to investigate their effect on the improvement factor and load-carrying capacity by using three-dimensional ABAQUS software with Mohr–coulomb soil model (M–C). Modelling of the geocell has been done by considering the continuous membrane element in the ABAQUS software. The numerical analysis results indicate that the inclusion of the geocell reinforcement in the sand layer overlying soft clay subgrade transfer the applied load to a lesser depth compared to unreinforced soil and increases the bearing capacity of the foundation system. The numerical analysis results were also verified with the experimental results available in the literature and multiple regression analysis model. This study shows that the prediction of the accuracy of the results was quite good with the experimental results and generated regression model.

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  1. Civil Engineering Department, NIT Hamirpur, Hamirpur, HP, India

    Gaurav Juneja & Ravi Kumar Sharma

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  1. Gaurav Juneja
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  2. Ravi Kumar Sharma
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Correspondence to Gaurav Juneja.

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Juneja, G., Sharma, R.K. Numerical Study on the Behaviour of Geocell-Reinforced Sand Layer Overlying Soft Clay Subgrade. Indian Geotech J 53, 422–436 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40098-022-00689-x

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