A rheological model for georeinforced embankments based on piled foundations

Abstract Concrete columns are commonly used methods to improve the performances of embankments on soft soil strata. To further reduce settlements and stresses on the soft foundation soil, geosynthetic reinforcements are often installed at the base of embankments. Existing design methods for these “geostructures” commonly does not take into consideration both the effect of the embankment construction process and the stiffness of the system components (embankment, soft soil, column and geosynthetics) as design parameters. As a consequence, these approaches do not allow the estimation of the settlements at the top of the embankment. In this paper a new rheological model capable of assessing both tensile forces in the geosynthetic and settlements at the embankment top induced by the construction process is presented. In this model, the variables defining the system performance (tensile forces in geosynthetics, stresses acting on piles and settlements) are explicitly related to the embankment height, interpreted as a generalized loading variable. The model has been validated on the results of 3D numerical analyses.