Effect of Reinforcement Width on Dynamic response of Basal Geosynthetic-Reinforced Embankment

High compressibility and poor shear strength properties of soft clayey foundation soils are problems to be dealt with in the design and construction of embankments or roads. The inclusion of geosynthetic at the embankment base is one of the ground improvement techniques used to construct roads or embankments over soft clayey subsoils. This article aims to present the seismic behaviour of basal geosynthetic-reinforced embankments, and various parameters are analysed to identify the suitable width of basal geogrid using time-history analysis. Embankments of heights 4 to 10 m with varying side slope angles are studied. Analysis of results shows that the addition of basal geogrid not only improves the stability of the embankment under static loading conditions but also improves the seismic performance of the embankment. From the results of this study, it is found that the basal geogrid reinforcement of a total width equal to the embankment base width plus embankment height and with a high tensile modulus of 4000 kN/m is required to effectively withstand the seismic forces in seismic regions with peak ground accelerations up to 0.6 g.