3D coupled mechanical and hydraulic modeling of geosynthetic encased stone column-supported embankment over soft clay.

Geosynthetic-encased stone column (GESC) has been proved as an effective alternative to reinforcing soft marine clay soils with low undrained shear strength. In this paper, three-dimensional (3-D) coupled mechanical and hydraulic modeling based on centrifugal model test was carried out to investigate the performance of GESC-supported embankment over soft clay with two different stiffness of encasement (i.e., 450 kN/m and 3300 kN/m). The numerical modeling results agree well with the centrifugal model test recordings. This investigation reveals that with the increase in the geogrid stiffness the differential settlement between the GESC and the surrounding soft marine clay soil was found to increase. Under the embankment load, the encased columns located below the embankment slope have experienced significant vertical and lateral stress ratio. Moreover, columns below the embankment slope tend to experience significant hoop strain below the top of the column. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]