Introduction
A piled embankment consists of a field op piles, with on top of that an embankment. Piled embankments are applied for the construction of roads and railways on soft soil.
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(a) A steel-reinforced piled embankment; (b) Load distribution: A- load transferred to the piles directly via soil arching, B- load transferred to the piles via the basal reinforcement, C- load carried by the soil.
Consortium
Private partners
- Keller Polska, Poland
- Keller Holding GmbH, Germany
- Keller Fondations Spéciales, France
- SHM System, Poland
Knowledge Institutes
- TU Darmstadt, Institute of Geotechnics, Germany
- Deltares, Delft, The Netherlands
Public partner
- GEOLAB (a four-year Horizon 2020 project (2021 – 2025) funded by the European Union H2020 Research and Innovation Programme (project-geolab.eu)
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Small-scale model tests (Deltares). Test set-up, DFOS sensors, cross-sections, installation of displacement transducers.
Activities
- Small-scale tests at the Deltares Model Hall.
- Nearly full-scale tests in a deep test pit at the University of Darmstadt.
- The application of modern DFOS technology to gives a 3D picture of the deformations and soil strains in the embankment and steel strains.
- Analytical and 3D FEM simulations and analyses.
- Development of a calculation model to design the steel reinforcement of a piled embankment.
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Large-scale test (TU Darmstadt), 16 piles centre-to-centre 1.25 m, sand being pluviated, DFOS sensors for measuring 3D deformations installed, cross-section, DFOS for soil strains and pressure cells installed.
Selection of Results
First small-scale test: measured and calculated soil arching A (load exerted on the piles, above the basal reinforcement), using three European models. H&R refers to the model of Hewlett & Randolph 1988. Surcharge loads are indicated (0 to 100 kPa).
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DFOS result in the large-scale test: vertical deformations at Level 1 after the installation of the first 1.05 m of the embankment.
Comparison of the measured (DFOS result) and calculated deformations of the steel reinforcement in the large-scale test. Calculations with the CA model, that was adopted in CUR226.
Products / planning
The official products of this TKI project are:
May 2022 | Test set-up of Deltares modified, and scaled tests conducted. |
April 2023 | Test set-up TU Darmstadt made, and nearly full-scale test conducted. |
2024 | Two proceedings papers about the small-scale tests at Deltares were written and presented at the corresponding conferences: van Eekelen, S.J.M, Schneider, M., Hell, M., Wittekoek, B., Makowska, K., Zdanowicz, K., Pandrea, P., Sieńko, R., Schauber, P., Topolnicki, M., Zachert, H., (2024). 3D small-scale tests on steel-reinforced piled embankments. In: Proc. ECSMGE 24, Lisbon, Portugal. van Eekelen, S.J.M, Schneider, M., Hell, M., Makowska, K., Zdanowicz, K., Wittekoek, B., Pandrea, P., Sieńko, R., Schauber, P., Topolnicki, M., Zachert, H. (2024b). Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) in 3D small-scale tests on steel-reinforced piled embankments. Proc. ECPMG 24, Delft, The Netherlands. |
2024 | Four proceedings papers about the nearly full-scale tests at TU Darmstadt were written and presented at the corresponding conferences: Schneider, M., Hell, M., Wittekoek, B., van Eekelen, S.J.M., Schauber,P., Pandrea, P., Topolnicki, M., Makowska, K., Zachert, H. (2024a). Untersuchungen zum Tragverhalten von Piled Embankments im Großversuch. In: Proc. Mitteilungen des Institutes für Geotechnik der Technischen Universität Darmstadt, Germany, Heft Nr. 144, 2024. Schneider, M., Hell, M., Wittekoek, B., Pandrea, P., van Eekelen, S.J.M., Topolnicki, M., Makowska, K., Sieńko, R., Zachert, H. (2024b). Large-scale test on the load bearing and deformation behaviour of basal steel-reinforced piled embankments. In: Proc. ECSMGE 24, Lisbon, Portugal. Schneider, M., Hell, M., Wittekoek, B., Pandrea, P., van Eekelen, S.J.M., Topolnicki, M., Makowska, K., Sieńko, R., Zachert, H. (2024c). High-density spatial measurements on a 3D large-scale model of a basal steel-reinforced piled embankment. In: Proc. ECPMG, Delft, Netherlands. Schneider, M., Hell, M., Wittekoek, B., Makowska, K. (2024d). 3D Trag- und Verformungsverhalten stahlbewehrter Erdkörper auf vertikalen Traggliedern. In: Proc. Baugrundtagung 2024, Germany. |
2025 | Paper in Dutch magazine |
2026 | Journal paper with the results of the tests in both labs, and recommendations for the design of a steel reinforcement for piled embankments. |
More information?
Please, contact Suzanne.vanEekelen@deltares.nl.
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