Investigation of Soil-Arching Development in Dense Sand by 2D Model Tests

A trapdoor system has frequently been used to study soil arching and its development in recent years. The load transfer in the fill of piled embankments is very similar to a trapdoor system with multiple trapdoors. There are multiple arching models described in different standards and guidelines for piled embankments that can be subdivided into...

Calibration of Partial Factors for Basal Reinforced Piled Embankments

In the Netherlands, the design guideline for basal reinforced piled embankments has been revised (CUR226:2015) adopting a new analytical design model (The Concentric Arches (CA) model, Van Eekelen et al., 2013; 2015). The CA model provides geosynthetic reinforcement (GR) strains which were compared with laboratory and in situ measurements (Van...

Mapping Geotechnical Risk for Infrastructural Works in Deltaic Areas

This paper presents method and first results of a study to quantify and communicate geotechnical risk for highway construction on soft soil and large building pits associated with infrastructural works in the Netherlands. A set of easy-to-read maps will inform the end users, geotechnical consultants at the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and...

Calibration of partial factors for basal reinforced piled embankments

In the Netherlands, the design guideline for basal reinforced piled embankments has been revised (CUR226:2015) adopting a new analytical design model (The Concentric Arches (CA) model, Van Eekelen et al., 2013; 2015). The CA model provides geosynthetic reinforcement (GR) strains which were compared with laboratory and in situ measurements (Van...

Basal Reinforced Piled Embankments

A basal reinforced piled embankment consists of a reinforced embankment on a pile foundation. The reinforcement consists of one or more horizontal layers of geosynthetic reinforcement (GR) installed at the base of the embankment. The design of the GR is the subject of this thesis. A basal reinforced piled embankment can be used for the...

Validation of analytical models for the design of basal reinforced piled embankments

Van Eekelen et al., 2012a, Van Eekelen et al., 2012b and Van Eekelen et al., 2013) have introduced an analytical model for the design of the geosynthetic reinforcement (GR) in a piled embankment. This paper further validates this model with measurements from seven full-scale tests and four series of scaled model experiments. Most of these...

Arching in basal reinforced piled embankments - Validation of the concentric arches model

Infrastructural projects such as roads and railway tracks are usually built on an embankment of sand or granular material. When building on soft soils, the prevention of differential settlements and resulting damage is traditionally done by including a long consolidation period in the construction process. One method to decrease construction...

An analytical model for arching in piled embankments

Most analytical models for the design of piled embankments or load transfer platforms with geosynthetic reinforcement (GR) include two calculation steps. Step 1 calculates the arching behaviour in the fill and step 2 the load-deflection behaviour of the GR. A calculation method for step 2 based on the results of model tests has been published by...

Model experiments on geosynthetic reinforced piled embankments, 3D test series

Role of modelling in the development of design methods for basal reinforced piled embankments

The paper details the role modelling (analytical, physical and numerical) has played in the development of design methods for basal reinforced piled embankments; specifically the level of embankment arching and the determination of the magnitude of the tensile loads in the basal reinforcement. The paper also reviews the major national design...

Model experiments on geosynthetic reinforced piled embankments, 3D test series

In the Netherlands, several field measurements were carried out in piled embankments with a geosynthetic basal reinforcement (GR). This paper presents a series of nineteen 3D model experiments on piled embankments. Purpose of the tests was to find an explanation why the calculated GR strains exceed the GR strains measured in the field. This...

Piled embankments with geosynthetic reinforcement: Numerical analysis of scale model tests

In the last few years, the CUR committee 159B has been working on the new Dutch Design Guideline for the design of piled embankments. To validate the guideline several field tests have been performed. From the field measurements is concluded that the design method is very conservative. Improving the design guideline will reduce the construction...