Influence of Geometrical Parameters of Geocell Reinforcement on the Load Carrying Capacity of Footing.

A detailed numerical analysis has been accomplished to explore the influence of geometrical parameters of geocell reinforcement on the load carrying behavior of footing using three-dimensional finite element techniques. The influencing parameters considered such as shape, height, pocket size, stiffness of geocell reinforcement, and friction angle of infill materials. Results indicate that the inclusion of the geocell reinforcement irrespective of the shape of geocells significantly enhances the strength and stiffness of the foundation system. However, the pressure-settlement behavior is noticeably influenced by the shape of the geocells. The load carrying capacity is found to be minimum for square shaped (i.e., 400 kPa) followed by circular, diamond, and honeycomb shapes (i.e., 1000 kPa) of geocells. With increase in height of geocell mattress, the performance of the foundation system increases noticeably. The findings indicate that the load bearing capacity increases significantly up to a height ratio (H/B) of 1.5, beyond which further increment found to be marginal. Additionally, the efficacy of the system improves with increase in stiffness of reinforcement and reduces with increase in geocell pocket size. Furthermore, it is evident that the higher frictional angle of the soil mobilizes enhanced resistance on the interface, improving the overall performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]