Embankments: written discussion contributions

Dr M. F. Syioes R. Travers Morgan & Partners

I have recently been involved in trying to design some embankments which are 9 m high on some very soft alluvial clay. A quick visit to the site revealed that a meandering river zigzagged its way across it and so we decided to use some sort of cellular earth reinforcement to span the channels. We then realised that we had

little idea as to how to assess the benefits on the strength and at what rate we could construct the embankment. Under normal circumstances it would require three-stage construction. We decided to contact Netlon and see what they could offer in the way of theories. The only theory currently available is based on rigid plate analysis. To investigate the problem from a different point of view we decided to conduct some finite element analysis using an elastoplastic formulation. This was performed for us by the Geotechnical Consulting Group.