Influence of geosynthetic on load transfer and settlement in pile-supported embankments

Pile-supported embankments require a load transfer platform (LTP) between the piles and the embankment. Granular platforms are typically reinforced using one or more geosynthetics. As part of the French research project ASIRI+, we performed laboratory tests to evaluate the performance of different types of granular LTPs. These tests were configured to ensure accurate simulation of the behavior of soft soil reinforced with rigid inclusions on a real-world scale. Our results revealed that the load transfer efficiency of geosynthetics is maximum when they are placed directly on the pile head (+30% of stress transferred to the pile compared to the non-reinforced case), the type of geosynthetic does not affect efficiency, and geosynthetics cannot significantly reduce the settlement at the pile head level for small settlement of soft soil but play their role through membrane effect for large displacement.