GEOSYNTHETICS ENGINEERING: IN

THEORY AND PRACTICE

Prof. J. N. Mandal

Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay,

Powai , Mumbai 400076, India.
Tel.022-25767328
email: cejnm@civil.iitb.ac.in

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

 Module - 8
LECTURE - 40
Geosynthetics for embankments on soft foundations

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

 OUTLINE

Introduction

Design of basal reinforced embankment

Placement of geosynthetics underneath embankment

Construction of basal reinforced embankment

Widening of existing roadway embankment

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

The embankment may fail due to
Low Shearing resistance of the foundation soil or excessive
deformation.
Low bearing capacity
High differential settlement

The conventional methods to improve the foundation for

embankments are,
Excavate and remove the soft soil and replace with good
quality soil
Densification by dynamic compaction or vibro- compaction.
Densification by grouting, and
Sand/ stone/ lime column
Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
 The conventional methods are very expensive and time
consuming.
Stability of embankment over soft soil is a major problem
due to the lower permeability of foundation soil. It takes a lot
of time to consolidate after embankment loading.
Improvement in the shearing resistance of foundation soil
is not sufficient to improve the stability.
Basal geosynthetic reinforcement is needed to be placed
between the soft foundation soil and embankment fill to
control the embankment stability.
The basal reinforcement prevents shear failure, reduces
differential settlement as well as improves the bearing
capacity.
Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
 In case of basal reinforced embankment, the foundation
soil consolidates due to embankment loading.
The tensile force of reinforcement will decrease over
time due to the effect of creep.
The proper selection and adaptation of polymer materials
will depend on type of polymeric materials and their creep
factors i.e. low creep reinforcement or high creep
reinforcement.
Various authors have described the failure modes of
basal reinforced embankment on soft foundation soil [i.e.
Halliburton et al. (1978 a&b); Christoper and Holtz (1985);
Terzaghi and Peck (1967) and Koerner (1990)].
Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
Different types of systems to control stability and settlement
of the embankments:

Basal reinforcement beneath embankment

Geosynthetic embankment with one layer of geosynthetic

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
Geosynthetic embankment with one layers with folded ends

Geosynthetic embankment (two layers) with folded ends

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
Geosynthetic embankment with berm with one layer or more layers
without and with folded ends

Reinforced embankment application (After Bonaparte and

Christopher, 1987)
Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
 Geosynthetic embankment with geocell

Geosynthetic embankment with vertical piles

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
Geosynthetic embankment using enclosed stone column

Geosynthetic embankment with PVD (Alternative to

sand drains)
Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
Modes of Potential Unsatisfactory behaviour of embankment failure
(After Halliburton et al.1978 and Fowler ,1981)

Movement

Tension Cracks
Geotextile Embankment

Foundation

Sliding outward along Geotextile With Crest Slumping

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

Potential Failure Plane
Mud Wave

Embankment

Geotextile
Foundation Geotextile must be torn at this location

Rotational Sliding / Slumping of Embankment

(Foundation Failure)

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

 Movement

Mud Wave
Mud Wave
Embankment

Foundation Geotextile

Excessive Elongation of Geotextile. Embankment

Sinking Foundation compress & displace

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

 DESIGN OF BASAL REINFORCED EMBANKMENT

The design is performed considering the ultimate limit state

and serviceability limit state conditions (After Koerner et al.,
1987; IFAI, 1990 and FHWA, 1998).

A) Determine the engineering properties of foundation soil

and embankment fill. Check the ground water table.

B) Specify the required dimensions of the embankment, i.e.

length of embankment, height of embankment, width of
the crest and slope.

C) Specify the external loading over the embankment.

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
D) Ultimate limit state

1. Local stability
2. Bearing capacity
3. Global or overall stability
4. Rupture
5. Lateral sliding or spreading
6. Pullout or anchorage
7. Foundation extrusion or squeezing

E) Serviceability limit state

1. Reinforcement strain or elastic deformation

2. Foundation settlement

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

 ULTIMATE LIMIT STATE

Step 1: Local stability of embankment fill

Embankment may fail due to the slip of slope within

the embankment. Firstly, stability of the unreinforced
embankment fill should be considered.

Local stability of embankment fill

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
Bishops (1955) circular slip analysis is considered to
check the local stability of embankment fill. Check the
stability of unreinforced embankment,

tan '
FS
tan

FS = factor of safety,
= effective angle of shearing resistance of the fill (degree),
= slope angle (degree)

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

Example:

Embankment slope () = 26.6 degrees (1 vertical to 2

horizontal)

= effective angle of shearing resistance of the fill = 30

Check stability of the embankment slope.

Solution:

tan ' tan 30

FS FS 1.15 (OK)
tan tan 26.6

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

Step 2: Bearing capacity

Bearing capacity failure occurs when the maximum

stress exerted by the embankment fill over the
foundation soil is greater than the bearing capacity of the
foundation soil.

Bearing Capacity failure

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
Geosynthetic is placed at the interface of foundation soil and
embankment fill. The safety against bearing capacity can be
checked by the conventional geotechnical theory,

qult = Cf Nc fill. He

qult = Ultimate bearing capacity of the soil (kN/m2),

Cf = Undrained shear strength of the foundation soil ( kPa),
NC = Bearing capacity coefficient, (from Bonaparte et al., 1986)
fill = Unit weight of the embankment fill( kN/m3), and
He = Height of the embankment (m),
Allowable bearing capacity, qallow = qult/ FS

Where, FS = Factor of safety = 1.5

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

Bearing capacity factor, Nc (After Bonaparte et al., 1986)
Rough B/Hf 2 Nc= 5.14

Foundation B/Hf > 2 Nc= 4.14 + 0.5B/Hf

B/Hf 0.61 Nc = 5.14

Smooth 0.61 < B/Hf 2 Nc = 5.64 - 0.52 B/Hf

Foundation B/Hf > 2 Nc = 3.5 + 0.25 B/Hf

Hf = thickness of the foundation

soil

B = width of the embankment

between midpoints of the side
slopes
Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
If the maximum embankment stress over foundation soil
exceeds its bearing capacity,

The bearing capacity of foundation soil is to be

increased.

In other way, the embankment stress can be reduced if

the width of embankment can be increased by flattening
its side slopes also resulting the increased bearing
capacity coefficient (Nc).

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

Step 3: Global /overall stability
Global stability analysis
provides the required
strength of the basal
reinforcement.

Reinforcement provides the

additional restoring moment
Global stability or overall
stability
- Foundation soil is fine-grained cohesive soil and in
undrained condition,
- Overall stability analysis is carried out using undrained
shear strength parameters of the foundation soil.
Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
FS = Restoring Moment (MR)/ Disturbing moment (MD)

FS = (s. L. R + Tg . Y)/ (W . x)

s = Shear stress = c (cohesive soil),

L = Arc length,
R = Radius of failure circle
W = Weigh of failure zone,
X = Distance between the origin and the C.G. of weigh of
failure zone,
Tg = Tensile strength of the basal reinforcement, and
Y = Vertical moment arm of basal reinforcement layer at the
base of embankment
Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
If the embankment soil differs with foundation soil, we can
calculate the factor of safety as follows:
Case 1: Without reinforcement

(ceLe cf Lf )R R = Radius of failure circle,

FS
(WeXe Wf Xf ) ce = Cohesion of embankment soil,
cf = Cohesion of foundation soil,
Le = Length of the failure arc for embankment,
Lf = Length of the failure arc for foundation,
We = Weight of the failure zone for embankment,
Wf = Weight of the failure zone for foundation,
Xe = Moment arm to centre of gravity of failure zone in
embankment,
Xf = Moment arm to centre of gravity of failure zone in
foundation
Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
Case 2: With reinforcement

n
(ce Le cf Lf ) R Ti Yi
i 1
FS
( We X e Wf X f )

Slope stability with multilayer

reinforcements

Ti = Allowable reinforcement strength,

Yi = Moment arm to the ith layer reinforcement,
n = No. of reinforcement layers
Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
 If there is no geosynthetic layer at the interface of
foundation soil and embankment fill, rotational failure of the
embankment is catastrophic.
On the other hand, if geosynthetic layer is introduced
between the foundation soil and embankment fill, the failure
is not catastrophic or less catastrophic because of the large
deformation of geosynthetic reinforcement.
It is very rigorous to determine the factor of safety by hand
calculation. However, many software are available in the
market to find out the factor of safety against global stability.
For cohesive fill, tensile strength (Tg) of geosynthetic is
according to 2% strain and for cohesionless fill, it should be
according to 5%-10% strain. If the fill soil is peat, the strain
limit is 2%-0% (FHWA, 1988).
Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
Step 4: Check for Rupture/Tearing failure
Reinforcement fails in tension and embankment slides
over the foundation soil.

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

Forces at the vertical edge section of the embankment:

Pfill = Active earth pressure acting at the vertical face

= Total driving force = 0.5 kaeHe2
ka = co-efficient of active earth pressure,
e = unit weight of embankment fill, and
He = height of embankment
Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
 Shear force at the bottom of embankment
= (Ca + vt tan f) x Ls
= Ca x Ls

(f = 0, as the foundation soil is completely saturated)

Let, tension in reinforcement = Tg

Total resisting force = Tg + Ca x Ls

Tg Ca .Ls Minimum factor of safety against

FSrupture 2
0.5 k a e H e rupture = 1.5

Determine Tg from the above equation. Now, we have to

consider the reduction factors.
Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
Check:

(Tg)required = R.F. x Tg < Tallowable

Tallowable = Tensile strength from global stability analysis

In longitudinal direction, we can provide the geosynthetic

with tensile strength (Tg)required

Seam strength (Tg)required

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

Step 5: Check for lateral sliding failure

Embankment slides over the reinforcement after

formation of crack in the embankment

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

 Force diagram for lateral sliding:

Total driving force (Pfill)

= active earth pressure force = 0.5 ka e He2
Total resisting force (Rg)
= W s. tan e + Ca. Ls
= 0.5. e. Ls. He. tan e (Ca = 0 for granular soil)
Ws = weigh of the sliding side slope,
e = friction angle between reinforcement and embankment fill
Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
Factor of safety against sliding = Rg / Pfill > 2 (Safe)

Step 6: Check for pullout strength

Rotational failure also occurs in embankment. It is

required to check for pull-out strength of geosynthetic.

(Tg)design= top Le + bottom Le

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
top = shear stress on the top of geosynthetic = v tan e,
bottom = shear stress at the bottom of geosynthetic = Ca,
v = vertical stress = e He,
Le = Embedded length of geosynthetic beyond the slip line
Therefore,

(Tg)design = v tan e Le + Ca Le = e He Ci tan e Le + Ca Le

Generally,

Ci = Interaction coefficient between geotextile and

embankment fill = 0.7, and
Ca = 40 % of the undrained cohesion (Cu) of foundation soil
Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay
Step 7: Required elastic strength of the geotextile

Treqd
E reqd
f

f = strain in geosynthetic (Considering 5% strain, f = 0.05),

Treqd = required tensile strength of the geotextile

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

Please let us hear from you

Any question?

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

 Prof. J. N. Mandal
Department of civil engineering, IIT Bombay, Powai
, Mumbai 400076, India.
Tel.022-25767328
email: cejnm@civil.iitb.ac.in

Prof. J. N. Mandal, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay