Analytical Solution for Reinforced Piled Embankments on Elastoplastic Consolidated Soil

Abstract

The reinforced piled embankment has been widely used in highway and high-speed railway because it is effective in reducing total and differential settlement. This paper presents an analytical solution for estimating the settlement of pile and soil and the distribution of skin friction and the neutral plane of the pile in the reinforced piled embankment over elastoplastic consolidated soil. The soft soils were assumed to be elastic-plastic materials with settlement calculations as determined by one-dimensional nonlinear consolidation theory. The load-transfer mechanisms accounting for soil arching and tensioned-membrane effects on the reinforcement and pile–soil interaction (skin friction along the pile), considering soil consolidation, were comprehensively investigated. The analytical solution was validated by three case studies and was shown to be a reliable method with acceptable accuracy with predictions overestimating the measurement by approximately 10%. The maximum settlement of soil was found to increase with increasing pile spacing while the soil constrained modulus decreased. The soil constrained modulus was a much more sensitive factor of influence on the maximum settlement of the soil than was the pile spacing.