NONLINEAR DEFORMATION ANALYSIS OF GEOCELL-REINFORCED FOUNDATIONS WITH GRANULAR SHEAR LAYERS

Abstract

This study developed an analytical model to simulate the behavior of a geocell-reinforced soil layer resting on a granular bed overlying soft soil. The model uses both linear and nonlinear formulations of the Winkler and Pasternak models to analyze the effects of various parameters on the response of the geocell. The geocell is modeled as a finite-length beam with flexural rigidity, and the underlying soil is represented by Winkler springs connected to a Pasternak shear layer. The results show that the nonlinearity of the models significantly influences the displacements, particularly in the vicinity of the loaded zones. Including the Pasternak model considerably reduces the displacements, with a reduction of 75% for large loads. In addition, parametric studies show that increasing the shear modulus and the granular layer's thickness improves the system's response. At the same time, the effect of the flexural rigidity of the geocell becomes negligible above a certain threshold. These results highlight the importance of considering the nonlinear behavior of the soil and mechanical interactions to optimize the performance of reinforced cellular layers.