Parametric Studies of the Load Transfer Platform Reinforcement Interaction with Columns

When designing embankments on a soft ground improved with columns (rigid inclusions) and with a geosynthetically reinforced load transfer platform (LTP), the methods of determining strains in reinforcement reduce the spatial problem to a two-dimensional one, and analytical calculations are carried out for reinforcement strips in the directions along and across the embankment. In addition, the two-dimensional FEM models do not allow for a complete analysis of the behavior of the reinforcement material. The aim of this research was to analyze the work of the membrane in the 3D space modeling of the LTP reinforcement, depending on the interaction with the column, the shape of the column’s cap, the value of the Poisson’s ratio, the value of the stiffness of the elastic foundation (subgrade reaction k) modeling of the soft soil resistance between the columns and the load distribution over membranes that model the reinforcement. The membranes were modeled in the framework of the theory of large deformations using the finite element method and slender shell elements as three-dimensional objects. This modeling method allowed for the analysis of the behavior of the LTP reinforcement in various directions. The conducted analyses showed, among others, that in the absence of soil resistance between the columns, regardless of the shape of the cap (square, circle), the greatest strains are located near the edge of the cap in the diagonal direction between the columns.