Experimental Research And Finite Element Analysis Of Geobelt-reinforced Gravel Cushion

According to the in-situ load tests and the finite element analysis, the effects of different reinforcement parameters on the gravel cushion are investigated in detail.At first, based on the results of in-situ load tests, the load-settle curves are acquired, and the effects of different reinforcement parameters are presented. These parameters include the linear density ratio(LDR); the location of the top layer of the geobelt measured from the bottom of the load plate(U); the different materials of geobelt; the number of reinforcement layers(N) and the distance between the two layers of geobelt( A H). These results show that the bearing capacities of the reinforced composite foundation can be improved and the settlement can be reduced.Secondly, referring to the results of press box, the stress distributionson the top of soft soil layer under different reinforcement conditions are obtained. These results show that the effects of stress distributions of geobelt-reinforced gravel cushion are better than gravel cushion.Thirdly, referring to the stress distributions on the top of soft soil, the stress distribution angles are worked out that are higher than 30 . It breaks up the rule in the code that if z/b<0. 25, the stress distribution angle should be zero.At last, analysis of composite modular by three-dimension finite element is carried out. It considers the effects of different LDR and N. It shows that the values of finite element analysis are well accordance with those of in-situ tests under the working load.