European analytical calculations compared with a full-scale Brazilian piled embankment

摘要

Measurements have been carried out in a full-scale Brazilian basal reinforced piled embankment. The subsoil beneath the geosynthetic reinforcement (GR) had been excavated before the installation of the reinforced embankment. The embankment was relatively thin in comparison to the pile cap spacing, resulting in relative much load on the GR. GR strains and settlements have been measured making it possible to validate analytical models. Many analytical design models for the design of piled embankments distinguish two calculation steps; calculation step 1; the arching and calculation step 2 ; the load deflection behaviour of the GR. This papser presents the comparison of the full-scale test with a new step 1 - model ; the Concentric arches model (Van Eekelen et al. 2013) and several step 2 models. The new concentric arches model is an extension on the models of Hewlet and Randolph (1988) and Zaeske (2001) and takes into account the 3D nature of the arching. The new model was developed because experiments had showed a load distribution on the GR in a piled embankment that could not be explained with the existing models. The new model does explain the measured load distribution.