Academic literature on the topic 'GEOGRID REINFORCED CLAY'

In this work, elastic natural rubber compound sheet (RCS) and ribbed smoked sheet grade 3 (RSS) were studied as alternative replacements for polymer geogrid for soil reinforcement. In order to investigate the reinforcing effectiveness in three distinct environments using the interface shear strength coefficient (Rin) by the large-scale direct shear test, the RSS and RCS geogrids were installed independently in sand, lateritic soil, and clay. Using either an RSS geogrid or RCS geogrid, the average Rin is progressively smaller in reinforced sand, lateritic soil, and clay, respectively. Higher tensile strength of reinforced materials using the RCS geogrid than those using the RSS geogrid is encouraged by the better elastic characteristics of the RCS geogrid. Thus, utilizing the RCS geogrid-reinforced materials can better increase the shear strength of coarse-grained soil such as sand and gravel.

Results are presented from a series of tests performed to investigate improvement in load-carrying capacity and reduction in bulging of a granular pile in soft clay by geogrid reinforcement. The study revealed an increase in the load-carrying capacity of geogrid-reinforced piles. The engineering behaviour improved with an increase in the number of geogrids and a decrease in the spacing between them. The bulge diameter and bulge length decreased due to the incorporation of geogrid reinforcement.Key words: granular pile, geogrids, composite ground, load-carrying capacity, bulging.

The present study investigates the improvement in the bearing capacity of silty clay soil with thin sand layer on top and placing geogrids at different depths. Model tests were performed for a rectangular footing resting on top of the soil to establish the load versus settlement curves of unreinforced and reinforced soil system. The test results focus on the improvement in bearing capacity of silty clay and sand on unreinforced and reinforced soil system in non-dimensional form, that is, BCR. The results show that bearing capacity increases significantly with the increased number of geogrid layers. The bearing capacity for the soil increases with an average of 16.67% using one geogrid layer at interface of soils with equal to 0.667 and the bearing capacity increases with an average of 33.33% while using one geogrid in middle of sand layer with equal to 0.33. The improvement in bearing capacity for sand underlain silty clay maintaining and equal to 0.33; for two, three and four number geogrid layer were 44.44%, 61.11%, 72.22%, respectively. The finding of this research work may be useful to improve the bearing capacity of soil for shallow foundation and pavement design for similar type of soil available elsewhere.

The paper describes the finite element model simulation of reinforced adobe walls to assess the feasibility of an innovative strengthening technique for earthen constructions, which improves the seismic performance. The retrofitting technique is based on the application of geogrids on both sides of the earthen wall. The geogrid is comprised in the mud plaster layer, which is applied to the wall surface in two steps. No additional connections are put in place, and the connection between the geogrid and the wall is granted exclusively by the mud plaster. The numerical simulation accounted for the presence of adobe blocks and clay joints, as well as for the presence of the reinforcing geogrid and of the mud plaster. The nonlinear behavior of the material was modeled with smeared cracking in tension and plasticity in compression, allowing to minimize the number of fitting material parameters. The numerical results are compared with the output from experimental tests [1] performed on almost twenty small walls without reinforcement, or with different types of geogrids available from the market. The laboratory tests included simple compression, diagonal shear, and three-point bending. The tests and the numerical simulation revealed that the retrofitting system is particularly effective from the mechanical point of view thanks to the optimal ratio between the wall and the geogrid stiffness and strength. The reinforced samples showed increased strength and greatly increased ductility, which is very promising in particular with respect to the seismic load behavior. The material compatibility between the geogrid and the mud plaster and the earthen wall is also very good, mainly due to the fact that geogrids were developed primarily for soil stabilization applications. The analyzed retrofitting system looks very promising for both the seismic improvement of existing vernacular heritage and for application in new bio-architecture building contexts.

With the rapid development of reinforced earth technology, different reinforced materials are also gradually applied to Reinforced earth. In this paper, we focus on the need for the study of interface characteristics between different reinforced materials and clay, by making indoor drawing test with two kinds of reinforced materials commonly used in engineering and the same clay. The test results show that: the drawing strength between the two reinforced materials and clay both increase with the normal stress increasing, both of their strength envelopes are straight lines; In the drawing test between the warp knitted geogrid and clay, the cohesive strength is 6.65kPa, the friction angle is 21.03°; while the drawing test between the geonet and clay, the cohesive strength is 2.9kPa, the friction angle is 10.96°; The average tensile strength of warp knitted geogrid is 26.4% of genet's, while the drawing strength of warp knitted geogrid in the test is about 48.1% of genet's, so when chosing reinforced materials in some engineerings, it is an important factor that we must consider the particle size and gradation of the filled reinforced materials, selecting the most appropriate size effect.

Compared with the commonest geosynthetics-reinforced soil structures, layered geogrids–sand–clay reinforced (LGSCR) structures (School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Shenyang University of Technology, Shenyang 110870, China) can replace granular materials with clay as the primary backfill material. Up until now, the performance of LGSCR structures under triaxial compression has been unclear. In this paper, the discrete element method was used to simulate the triaxial compression test on the LGSCR samples. Based on the particle flow software PFC3D, three types of cluster particle-simulated sand and the reinforced joints of the geogrid were constructed by secondary development. The effects of the geogrid embedment in sand layers, the number and thickness of sand layers in relation to the deviatoric stress, and the axial strain and the shear strength index of the LGSCR samples were analyzed. The results showed that laying the sand layers in the samples can improve their post-peak strain-softening characteristics and increase their peak strengths under a high confining pressure. A geogrid embedment in sand layers can further enhance the ductility and peak strength of the samples, and in terms of the shear strength index, there is a 41.6% to 54.8% increase in the apparent cohesion of the samples.

The interface interaction between geogrid and soil is one of key issues on stability of geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures. Comparative analysis of properties of geogrid-clay interface under the different kinds of geogrid, different normal stresses, speeds of pullout and water contents of clay are conducted by medium-sized pullout tests. The tests results showed that ultimate pullout force of geogrid, interfacial cohesion and frictional coefficient are significantly affected by various water contents of clay. Ultimate pullout forces of geogrid tending to remarkably difference when subject to different normal stresses at lower water contents, and frictional coefficient of interface decrease with the increase of water content, interfacial cohesion has a tendency to increase followed by decreasing with increase of water contents. Moreover, the curves of load and displacement possess three piecewise consisting of linear increase, non-linear increase and ultimate pullout, and as water content increase interval nonlinear changing stage is not conspicuous.

Landfill is still the most important process to dispose of municipal solid waste in China, while landfill closure aims for pollution control, security control, and better land reuse. However, uneven settlement of landfill cover system is very likely to cause deformation and cracking. The objective of this paper is to examine the effects of geogrid reinforcement on the deformation behaviour and hydraulic conductivity of the bentonite-sand mixtures that are subjected to differential settlement. The laboratory model tests were performed on bentonite-sand mixtures with and without the inclusion of geogrid reinforcement. By maintaining the type and location of the geogrid within the liner systems as constant, the thickness of the bentonite-sand mixtures is varied. The performation of the liner systems with and without the inclusion of geogrid reinforcement was assessed by using jack to control differential settlement. Un-reinforced bentonite-sand mixtures of 100 mm and 200 mm thickness were observed to begin cracking at settlement levels of 2.5 mm and 7 mm, respectively. When settlement reached 25 and 42.5 mm, cracks for 100 mm and 200 mm thick bentonite-sand mixtures without geogrid penetrated completely. The settlement levels for bentonite-sand mixtures of 100 mm thickness with and without geogrid reinforcement was found to be 10 mm and 15 mm, respectively, when its hydraulic conductivity was around 5 * 10−7 cm/s. In comparison, geogrid reinforced bentonite-sand mixtures was found to sustain large deformation with an enhanced imperviousness. The results from the present study can provide theory evidence of predicting deformation and hydraulic conductivity of the landfill cover system.

In order to reveal the main factors affecting the deformation of reinforced soil retaining wall and the influence of various factors on the deformation, the constitutive relation is discretized into four aspects of soil, geogrid, wall panel, and contact surface, and discrete element matrices are, respectively, constructed, with the method of separate finite element. Based on the finite element geotechnical analysis technology platform, the deformation analysis model of reinforced soil retaining wall is established. Taking the modulus of foundation soil as the influencing factor of the foundation soil, taking the geogrid stiffness, length, and spacing as the influencing factors of geogrids, and taking the filling type of limestone, fly ash, and silty clay as the influencing factors of backfill in the wall, the horizontal and vertical deformations of reinforced retaining wall under different factors using the methods of controlling a single variable analysis are calculated. The results show that the increase of elastic modulus of foundation soil will reduce the vertical deformation of the wall but increase the horizontal deformation. The silty clay is not suitable as filler, and lime soil is slightly better than fly ash. The spacing between geogrids is 20 cm ~ 60 cm, which has less effect on wall deformation, but the horizontal deformation rapidly increases after the spacing increases to 80 cm, and other grid performance influencing factors also have the characteristic, where there exists a threshold. The wall will have a greater deformation when the threshold is not reached; a higher indicator of the grid to reduce the deformation of the retaining wall is not obvious after reaching the threshold.

As the many constructions activity are to be done in different fields under many government schemes. There is huge need arise to economize the construction cost and cost of material. The subgrade is that part of soil which supports the many types of footing and also carries the load from superstructure. As at every place good quality of subgrade is not available, so there is need to improve the quality of weak subgrade. Either we replace it completely and fill it with good quality of material or improve the engineering property of subgrade by using ad mixer or by using the polymer just like geogrid, geotextiles etc. As the replacement of subgrade is not economical solution when the weak subgrade is presented up to a should have good bearing capacity and other engineering properties which may further economize the cost of construction.As the material chosen for the improvement of subgrade must have appropriate strength itself or in combination with the soil and it must be economical to use and easily available. In the present investigation CBR tests were carried out on sandy and clay soils. With these two types of soils we are also using the geogrid as reinforcement at different positions.Here we are also increasing the surcharge and degree of compaction. Effect on the CBR value is to be observed at increase in surcharge and degree of compaction on reinforced clay and sandy soils. It was reported that with increase in surcharge and degree of compaction CBR value of soil also increased. The optimum result comes out when we use increased surcharge, degree of compaction and geogrid in a single stage.

Current design guidelines for reinforced soil walls and slopes recommend the use of granular soils such as gravels and sands as select fills. Cost savings could potentially be realized by using on-site clays and silts. Some clays are swelling and silts are frost susceptible. When considering the use of swelling clays and frost susceptible silts as fills, environmental loading due to swelling-shrinkage and freeze-thaw effects from environmental changes could become a design issue. To examine the hypothesis that consideration of environmental loading during design will produce improvements in the performance of geosynthetic-reinforced soil structures that use clays or silts as fill materials, experimental and numerical studies were undertaken. Geosynthetic-reinforced clay specimens were subjected to wetting and drying in a model test apparatus developed and commissioned for this study. In separate test set-up, reinforced silt specimens were subjected to freezing and thawing. Tests on unreinforced specimens were also performed in otherwise identical conditions for comparison purposes. Movements of the specimens, soil strains, reinforcement strains, soil suctions and soil temperatures were monitored during the application of environmental loading in addition to mechanical loading from external stresses. The results of the laboratory model tests showed that reinforcements reduced horizontal displacements of the clay specimens during wetting and drying. The same is true for the case of silt during freezing and thawing. The environmental loading induced strains, and therefore stresses in the reinforcements. The measured geogrid strain during the wetting-drying of reinforced clay specimen was up to 0.75%. Similarly, the measured geogrid strain in the reinforced silt specimen during freezing-thawing cycles was up to 0.57%. The strains were greater than the strains generated by mechanical loading for the range of applied stresses used in this study. Numerical models were developed to simulate wetting only induced swelling of reinforced clays and freezing only induced expansion of reinforced silts specimens. They were used to simulate the results of laboratory model tests. The performance of geosynthetic-reinforced soil slopes with swelling clay fills and frost susceptible silt fills was evaluated. Parametric studies were performed to determine important parameters affecting the performance of reinforced clay and silt slopes.

The various aspects of the 3D cellular confinement systems (geocells) subjected to static loading are comprehensively studied with the help of experimental and numerical studies. The performances of the geocells were separately studied in both sand and clay beds. Laboratory tests were performed on single as well as multiple cells. The behavior of 3D-cells made of different materials such as Novel polymeric alloy, geogrids and bamboo were compared. Moreover, the performances of the geocells were compared with other forms of geosynthetic reinforcements namely, geogrids and the combination of geocells and geogrids. In addition to comprehensive experimental study, 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional numerical modelling efforts are also presented. A Realistic approach of modelling the geocells in 3D framework has been proposed; which considers the actual curvature of the geocell pockets. An Analytical equation has been proposed to estimate the increase in the bearing capacity of the geocell reinforced soft clay beds. Similarly, a set of equations to estimate the stress and strains on the surface of the geocells subjected to compressive loading were also proposed. A case study highlighting the innovative use of the geocell foundation to support the embankment on soft settled red mud has been documented in the thesis. A new and emerging application of geocell to protect underground utilities and the buried pipelines has been proposed. At the end, behavior of the geocell under cyclic loading has also been discussed. Firstly, laboratory model tests were performed to understand the behavior of the geocells in sand and clay beds. Test results of unreinforced, geogrid reinforced, geocell reinforced, and geocell reinforced with additional planar geogrid at the base of the geocell cases were compared separately for sand and clay beds. Results revealed that the use of geocells increases the ultimate bearing capacity of the sand bed by 2.9 times and clay bed by 3.6 times. Provision of the basal geogrid increases the ultimate load carrying capacity of the sand and clay bed by about 3.6 times and 4.9 times, respectively. Besides increasing the load carrying capacity, provision of the planar geogrid at the base of the cellular mattress arrests the surface heaving and prevents the rotational failure of the footing. Geocells contribute to the load carrying capacity of the foundation bed, even at very low settlements. In addition, the effect of infill materials on the performance of the geocell was also studied. Three different infill materials, namely aggregate, sand and local red soil were used in the study. Results suggest that the performance of the geocell was not heavily influenced by the infill materials. Out of which aggregate found to be slightly better than other two infill materials. Further, 2-dimensional numerical studies using FLAC2D (Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua in 2D) were carried out to validate the experimental findings. The equivalent composite approach was used to model the geocells in 2-dimensional framework. The results obtained from the FLAC2D were in good agreement with the experimental results. However, in the sand bed, FLAC2D overestimated the bearing pressure by 15% to 20% at higher settlements. In addition, the joint strength and the wall deformation characteristics of the geocells were studied at the single cell level. The study helps to understand the causes for the failure of the single cell in a cellular confinement system. Experimental studies were conducted on single cells with cell pockets filled up with three different infill materials, namely, silty clay, sand and the aggregates. The results of the experimental study revealed that the deformation of the geocell wall decreases with the increase in the friction angle of the infill material. Measured strain values were found to be in the range of 0.64% to 1.34% for different infill materials corresponding to the maximum applied bearing pressure of 290 kPa. Experimental results were also validated using FLAC3D. Findings from the numerical studies were in accordance with the experimental results. A simple analytical model based on the theory of thin cylinders was also proposed to calculate the accumulated strain of the geocell wall. This model operates under a simple elastic solution framework. The proposed model slightly overestimates the strains as compared to experimental and numerical values. A realistic approach of modelling the geocells in 3-dimensional (3D) framework has been proposed. Numerical simulations have been carried out by forming the actual 3D honeycomb shape of the geocells using the finite difference package FLAC3D. Geocells were modeled using the geogrid structural element available in the FLAC 3D with the inclusion of the interface element. Geocells, foundation soil and the infill soil were modeled with the different material model to match the real case scenario. The Mohr Colombo model was used to simulate the behavior of the sand bed while modified Cam clay was used to simulate the behavior of the clay bed. It was found that the geocells distribute the load in lateral direction to a relatively shallow depth as compared to unreinforced case. More than 50% reduction in the stress in the presence of geocells and more than 70% reduction in the stress in the presence geocells with basal geogrid were observed in sand and clay beds. The numerical model was also validated with the experimental studies and the results were found to be in good agreement with each other. The validated numerical model was used to study the influence of various properties of the geocells on the performance of the reinforced foundation beds. The performance of the foundation bed was directly influenced by the modulus and the height of the geocells. Similarly, the pocket size of the geocell inversely affected the performance of the reinforced beds. The geocell with textured surface yielded better performance than the geocell with smooth surface. A case history of the construction of a 3 m high embankment on the geocell foundation over the soft settled red mud has been documented. Red mud is a waste product from the Bayer process of Aluminium industry. The reported embankment is located in Lanjigharh (Orissa) in India. The geotechnical problems of the site, the design of the geocell foundation based on experimental investigation and the construction sequences of the geocell foundations in the field are discussed. Based on the experimental studies, an analytical model was also developed to estimate the load carrying capacity of the soft clay bed reinforced with geocell and the combination of geocell and geogrid. The solution was established by superimposing the three mechanisms viz. lateral resistance effect, vertical stress dispersion effect and the membrane effect. By knowing the pressure applied on the geocell, tensile strength of the geogrid and the limiting settlement, the increment in the load carrying capacity can be calculated. The analytical model was validated with the experimental results and the results were found to be in good agreement with each other. The results of the experimental and analytical studies revealed that the use of the combination of geocell and the geogrid is always beneficial than using the geocell alone. Hence, the combination of geocell and geogrid was recommended to stabilize the embankment base in Lanjigharh. Over 15,000 mof embankment base was stabilized using geocell foundation. The foundation work was completed within 15 days using locally available labors and the equipment. Construction of the embankment on the geocell foundation has already been completed. The constructed embankment has already sustained two monsoon rains without any cracks and seepage. Like Aluminum tailings (redmud), geocell foundations can also be used in various other mine tailings like zinc, copper etc. Geocell foundation can offer potential solutions to storage problems faced by various mining industries. The thesis also proposes a potential alternative to the geocells in the form of bamboocells in order to suit the Indian scenario. Indian has the 2nd largest source of bamboo in the world. The areas particularly rich in bamboo are the North Eastern States, the Western Ghats, Chattisgarh and Andaman Nicobar Islands. The tensile strength and surface roughness of the bamboo was found to be 9 times and 3 times higher than geocell materials. In order to use the bamboo effectively, 3D cells (similar to geocells) and 2D grids (similar to geogrids) are formed using bamboo known as bamboocells and bamboogrids respectively. The idea behind forming bamboocells is to extract the additional confining effect on the encapsulated soil by virtue of its 3-dimensional shape. The laboratory investigations were performed on a clay bed reinforced with natural (bamboo) and commercial (geosynthetics) reinforcement materials. The performance of bamboocells and bamboogrids reinforced clay beds were compared with the clay bed reinforced with geocells and geogrids. The ultimate bearing capacity of the bamboocell and bamboogrid reinforced clay bed was found to be 1.3 times that of reinforced with geocell and geogrid. The settlement of the clay bed was reduced by 97% due to the insertion of the combination of the bamboocell and bamboogrid as compared to the unreinforced clay bed. The bamboo was treated chemically to increase the durability. The performance of the bamboo was reduced by 15-20% after the chemical treatment; still the performance was better than its geosynthetic counterparts. Analytical studies revealed that the 3% of the ultimate tensile strength of the bamboogrid was mobilized while resisting the footing load. The study also explored the new and innovative applications of the geocells to protect underground utilities and buried pipelines. The laboratory model tests and the numerical studies were performed on small diameter PVC pipes, buried in geocell reinforced sand beds. In addition to geocells, the efficacy of only geogrid and geocell with additional basal geogrid cases were also studied. A PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) pipe with external diameter 75 mm and thickness 1.4 mm was used in the experiments. The vehicle tire contact pressure was simulated by applying the pressure on the top of the bed with the help of a steel plate. Results suggest that the use of geocells with additional basal geogrid considerably reduces the deformation of the pipe as compared to other types of reinforcements. Further, the depth of placement of pipe was also varied between 1B to 2B (B is the width of loading plate) below the plate in the presence of geocell with additional basal geogrid. More than 50% reduction in the pressure and more than 40% reduction in the strain values were observed in the presence of reinforcements at different depths as compared to the unreinforced beds. Further, experimental results were validated with 3-dimensional numerical studies using 3D FLAC. Good agreement in the measured pipe stain values were observed between the experimental and numerical studies. In addition, the results of the 1-g model tests were scaled up to the prototype case of the shallow buried pipeline below the pavement using the appropriate scaling laws. The efficacy of the geocells was also studied under the action of cyclic loading. The laboratory cyclic plate load tests were performed in soft clay bed by considering the three different cases, namely, unreinforced, geocell reinforced and geocell with additional basal geogrid reinforced. The coefficient of elastic uniform compression (Cu) was evaluated from the cyclic plate load tests for the different cases. The Cu value was found to increase in the presence of geocell reinforcement. The maximum increase in the Cu value was obtained for the case of the clay bed reinforced with the combination of geocell and the geogrid. The results of the laboratory model tests were extrapolated to prototype foundation supporting the low frequency reciprocating machine. The results revealed that, in the presence of the combination of geocell and the geogrid the natural frequency of the foundation-soil system increases by 4 times and the amplitude of the vibration reduces by 92%.

The various aspects of the 3D cellular confinement systems (geocells) subjected to static loading are comprehensively studied with the help of experimental and numerical studies. The performances of the geocells were separately studied in both sand and clay beds. Laboratory tests were performed on single as well as multiple cells. The behavior of 3D-cells made of different materials such as Novel polymeric alloy, geogrids and bamboo were compared. Moreover, the performances of the geocells were compared with other forms of geosynthetic reinforcements namely, geogrids and the combination of geocells and geogrids. In addition to comprehensive experimental study, 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional numerical modelling efforts are also presented. A Realistic approach of modelling the geocells in 3D framework has been proposed; which considers the actual curvature of the geocell pockets. An Analytical equation has been proposed to estimate the increase in the bearing capacity of the geocell reinforced soft clay beds. Similarly, a set of equations to estimate the stress and strains on the surface of the geocells subjected to compressive loading were also proposed. A case study highlighting the innovative use of the geocell foundation to support the embankment on soft settled red mud has been documented in the thesis. A new and emerging application of geocell to protect underground utilities and the buried pipelines has been proposed. At the end, behavior of the geocell under cyclic loading has also been discussed. Firstly, laboratory model tests were performed to understand the behavior of the geocells in sand and clay beds. Test results of unreinforced, geogrid reinforced, geocell reinforced, and geocell reinforced with additional planar geogrid at the base of the geocell cases were compared separately for sand and clay beds. Results revealed that the use of geocells increases the ultimate bearing capacity of the sand bed by 2.9 times and clay bed by 3.6 times. Provision of the basal geogrid increases the ultimate load carrying capacity of the sand and clay bed by about 3.6 times and 4.9 times, respectively. Besides increasing the load carrying capacity, provision of the planar geogrid at the base of the cellular mattress arrests the surface heaving and prevents the rotational failure of the footing. Geocells contribute to the load carrying capacity of the foundation bed, even at very low settlements. In addition, the effect of infill materials on the performance of the geocell was also studied. Three different infill materials, namely aggregate, sand and local red soil were used in the study. Results suggest that the performance of the geocell was not heavily influenced by the infill materials. Out of which aggregate found to be slightly better than other two infill materials. Further, 2-dimensional numerical studies using FLAC2D (Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua in 2D) were carried out to validate the experimental findings. The equivalent composite approach was used to model the geocells in 2-dimensional framework. The results obtained from the FLAC2D were in good agreement with the experimental results. However, in the sand bed, FLAC2D overestimated the bearing pressure by 15% to 20% at higher settlements. In addition, the joint strength and the wall deformation characteristics of the geocells were studied at the single cell level. The study helps to understand the causes for the failure of the single cell in a cellular confinement system. Experimental studies were conducted on single cells with cell pockets filled up with three different infill materials, namely, silty clay, sand and the aggregates. The results of the experimental study revealed that the deformation of the geocell wall decreases with the increase in the friction angle of the infill material. Measured strain values were found to be in the range of 0.64% to 1.34% for different infill materials corresponding to the maximum applied bearing pressure of 290 kPa. Experimental results were also validated using FLAC3D. Findings from the numerical studies were in accordance with the experimental results. A simple analytical model based on the theory of thin cylinders was also proposed to calculate the accumulated strain of the geocell wall. This model operates under a simple elastic solution framework. The proposed model slightly overestimates the strains as compared to experimental and numerical values. A realistic approach of modelling the geocells in 3-dimensional (3D) framework has been proposed. Numerical simulations have been carried out by forming the actual 3D honeycomb shape of the geocells using the finite difference package FLAC3D. Geocells were modeled using the geogrid structural element available in the FLAC 3D with the inclusion of the interface element. Geocells, foundation soil and the infill soil were modeled with the different material model to match the real case scenario. The Mohr Colombo model was used to simulate the behavior of the sand bed while modified Cam clay was used to simulate the behavior of the clay bed. It was found that the geocells distribute the load in lateral direction to a relatively shallow depth as compared to unreinforced case. More than 50% reduction in the stress in the presence of geocells and more than 70% reduction in the stress in the presence geocells with basal geogrid were observed in sand and clay beds. The numerical model was also validated with the experimental studies and the results were found to be in good agreement with each other. The validated numerical model was used to study the influence of various properties of the geocells on the performance of the reinforced foundation beds. The performance of the foundation bed was directly influenced by the modulus and the height of the geocells. Similarly, the pocket size of the geocell inversely affected the performance of the reinforced beds. The geocell with textured surface yielded better performance than the geocell with smooth surface. A case history of the construction of a 3 m high embankment on the geocell foundation over the soft settled red mud has been documented. Red mud is a waste product from the Bayer process of Aluminium industry. The reported embankment is located in Lanjigharh (Orissa) in India. The geotechnical problems of the site, the design of the geocell foundation based on experimental investigation and the construction sequences of the geocell foundations in the field are discussed. Based on the experimental studies, an analytical model was also developed to estimate the load carrying capacity of the soft clay bed reinforced with geocell and the combination of geocell and geogrid. The solution was established by superimposing the three mechanisms viz. lateral resistance effect, vertical stress dispersion effect and the membrane effect. By knowing the pressure applied on the geocell, tensile strength of the geogrid and the limiting settlement, the increment in the load carrying capacity can be calculated. The analytical model was validated with the experimental results and the results were found to be in good agreement with each other. The results of the experimental and analytical studies revealed that the use of the combination of geocell and the geogrid is always beneficial than using the geocell alone. Hence, the combination of geocell and geogrid was recommended to stabilize the embankment base in Lanjigharh. Over 15,000 mof embankment base was stabilized using geocell foundation. The foundation work was completed within 15 days using locally available labors and the equipment. Construction of the embankment on the geocell foundation has already been completed. The constructed embankment has already sustained two monsoon rains without any cracks and seepage. Like Aluminum tailings (redmud), geocell foundations can also be used in various other mine tailings like zinc, copper etc. Geocell foundation can offer potential solutions to storage problems faced by various mining industries. The thesis also proposes a potential alternative to the geocells in the form of bamboocells in order to suit the Indian scenario. Indian has the 2nd largest source of bamboo in the world. The areas particularly rich in bamboo are the North Eastern States, the Western Ghats, Chattisgarh and Andaman Nicobar Islands. The tensile strength and surface roughness of the bamboo was found to be 9 times and 3 times higher than geocell materials. In order to use the bamboo effectively, 3D cells (similar to geocells) and 2D grids (similar to geogrids) are formed using bamboo known as bamboocells and bamboogrids respectively. The idea behind forming bamboocells is to extract the additional confining effect on the encapsulated soil by virtue of its 3-dimensional shape. The laboratory investigations were performed on a clay bed reinforced with natural (bamboo) and commercial (geosynthetics) reinforcement materials. The performance of bamboocells and bamboogrids reinforced clay beds were compared with the clay bed reinforced with geocells and geogrids. The ultimate bearing capacity of the bamboocell and bamboogrid reinforced clay bed was found to be 1.3 times that of reinforced with geocell and geogrid. The settlement of the clay bed was reduced by 97% due to the insertion of the combination of the bamboocell and bamboogrid as compared to the unreinforced clay bed. The bamboo was treated chemically to increase the durability. The performance of the bamboo was reduced by 15-20% after the chemical treatment; still the performance was better than its geosynthetic counterparts. Analytical studies revealed that the 3% of the ultimate tensile strength of the bamboogrid was mobilized while resisting the footing load. The study also explored the new and innovative applications of the geocells to protect underground utilities and buried pipelines. The laboratory model tests and the numerical studies were performed on small diameter PVC pipes, buried in geocell reinforced sand beds. In addition to geocells, the efficacy of only geogrid and geocell with additional basal geogrid cases were also studied. A PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) pipe with external diameter 75 mm and thickness 1.4 mm was used in the experiments. The vehicle tire contact pressure was simulated by applying the pressure on the top of the bed with the help of a steel plate. Results suggest that the use of geocells with additional basal geogrid considerably reduces the deformation of the pipe as compared to other types of reinforcements. Further, the depth of placement of pipe was also varied between 1B to 2B (B is the width of loading plate) below the plate in the presence of geocell with additional basal geogrid. More than 50% reduction in the pressure and more than 40% reduction in the strain values were observed in the presence of reinforcements at different depths as compared to the unreinforced beds. Further, experimental results were validated with 3-dimensional numerical studies using 3D FLAC. Good agreement in the measured pipe stain values were observed between the experimental and numerical studies. In addition, the results of the 1-g model tests were scaled up to the prototype case of the shallow buried pipeline below the pavement using the appropriate scaling laws. The efficacy of the geocells was also studied under the action of cyclic loading. The laboratory cyclic plate load tests were performed in soft clay bed by considering the three different cases, namely, unreinforced, geocell reinforced and geocell with additional basal geogrid reinforced. The coefficient of elastic uniform compression (Cu) was evaluated from the cyclic plate load tests for the different cases. The Cu value was found to increase in the presence of geocell reinforcement. The maximum increase in the Cu value was obtained for the case of the clay bed reinforced with the combination of geocell and the geogrid. The results of the laboratory model tests were extrapolated to prototype foundation supporting the low frequency reciprocating machine. The results revealed that, in the presence of the combination of geocell and the geogrid the natural frequency of the foundation-soil system increases by 4 times and the amplitude of the vibration reduces by 92%.

Skid mounted surface pipelines have been used to cross four major creek valleys on the Westcoast Energy 762 mm Fort Nelson mainline where very large deep-seated slides are progressively failing. The surface pipeline segments range up to 2.2 km long and were used to cross very large slides on the creek approach slopes, or in one case, down valley sliding of the valley floor, which had resulted in major operational problems for the originally buried pipelines. The surface pipeline segments were used for slides where there were no other options for a conventional buried pipeline. During the studies to support the design of the surface pipelines, comprehensive geotechnical investigations included drilling, installation of slope indicators, and electric piezocone penetrometer testing to monitor subsurface pore water pressures and to detect deep seated slide surfaces. Typical peak movement rates of the slides varied to a maximum of several meters per year. The unstable soils were predominantly medium to high plastic silty clay tills and high plastic glaciolacustrine clays with residual internal angles of friction of 7.5 to 8.5°. The pipelines were placed on pressure treated timber skids on graded rights-of-ways (RoW) with comprehensive surface and subsurface water control. Aerial clear span crossings were used across the watercourses with geogrid reinforced abutments on the unstable soil. Geogrids were also used to add stability to structural fills and to reinforce an area of the RoW subject to encroachment from a rapidly moving earth flow up to 6 m deep. The general maintenance and operational guidelines are also discussed. Provincial and Federal regulatory concerns and their abatement are presented and discussed. Over the past five years of operation of the pipelines, one of the slopes moved 1.5 m in a twenty-four hour period and related total movements left a 5 m high head scarp on the RoW. Displacement of soil and areas of thrusting resulted in unsupported pipe spans of 35 m with negligible deleterious impact on the pipeline. This magnitude of movement would have almost certainly caused a failure of the original buried line. All of slopes have continued to move and would have caused a varying magnitude of operational problems had the pipelines still been buried.