Numerical analysis of geocell reinforced ballast overlying soft clay subgrade

Sireesh Saride, Sailesh Pradhan, Sitharam T.G. and Anand J. Puppala

Abstract

Geotextiles and geogrids have been in use for several decades in variety of geo-structure applications including foundation of embankments, retaining walls, pavements. Geocells is one such variant in geosynthetic reinforcement of recent years, which provides a three dimensional confinement to the infill material. Although extensive research has been carried on geocell reinforced sand, clay and layered soil subgrades, limited research has been reported on the aggregates/ballast reinforced with geocells. This paper presents the behavior of a railway sleeper subjected to monotonic loading on geocell reinforced aggregates, of size ranging from 20 to 75 mm, overlying soft clay subgrades. Series of tests were conducted in a steel test tank of dimensions 700 mm

Key Words

ballast; geocells; model studies; numerical simulations; soft clay

Address

Sireesh Saride: Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, India; Sailesh Pradhan, Sitharam T.G.: Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India; Anand J. Puppala: Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, Texas, USA

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