A bearing capacity calculation method for soil reinforced with a geocell

ABSTRACT: Geocell geosynthetics have been used in several areas of geotechnical engineering, such as retaining walls, slope protection against erosion, road bases and channel lining. However, geocell was initially designed to improve soil bearing capacity. Performing works in soft soils is always a challenge to geotechnical engineering and involves risks, such as (global and local) soil failures and large settlements. As reinforcement, geocell satisfactorily increases the bearing capacity of the soil, enabling its use. In this regard, this paper presents a method for predicting the bearing capacity of geocell-reinforced soils, taking into account the soil foundation bearing capacity and the geocell reinforcement mechanisms – the stress dispersion effect and the confinement effect. The proposed method is verified with the results of laboratory experiments by several researchers and compared with other calculation methods. The results show that the calculated bearing capacity obtained by this method give a better fit to the experimental results than other methods. The method also proved to be a good approach for different geocell characteristics (geometry), foundation soil and geocell infill (sand and clay) and loading shape (circular, rectangular and strip).