Reinforcement performance of piled embankments

Finite element numerical simulation is conducted to investigate the behavior of piled embankment. It is found that the geogrid is capable of reducing the ultimate stress on the subsoil to zero. The maximum tension in the geogrid occurs at the corner of the pile cap. For the case with three layers of reinforcement distributed through the bottom of the embankment, the upper two layers share relatively little tension compared to the bottom layer. The sag of the reinforcement is very sensitive to the span of the geogrid between piles, but relatively insensitive to the stiffness of the geogrid. The conclusions drawn from the tests may provide valuable reference for the practice.