Introduction
Geosynthetic-reinforced pile-supported (GRPS) embankments were developed for areas with compressible soil and subsidence.
Up to date, nearly all GRPS piled embankments in the world are dry, and therefore, no measurements were available of those structures where the embankment was partially or completely submerged into groundwater.
As a result, in wet conditions, unsustainable and unnecessarily expensive solutions such as concrete slabs are chosen.
This research will quantified the influence of extreme rain (climate change) or a high groundwater level (subsidence, sea level rise) and develop a design procedure to take groundwater into account.
Furthermore, efforts have been made to understand the impact of dynamic loading on piled mattresses through field measurements and numerical analyses.
Activities
- Field measurements
- Small-scale experiments
- Finite element analyses
Field measurements
A regional road in the Krimpenerwaard, Netherlands, was constructed on a geotextile-reinforced pile-supported embankment. A section was monitored for four years. Geotextile strains, the changing groundwater level and settlements were measured.
GRPS embankment in the Krimpenerwaard, Netherlands. Installation of geotextile reinforcement, at the bottom of the embankment. (a) across road way, (b) along road way. The concrete pre-cast pile caps were covered by a non woven for protection of the reinforcement
Installation monitoring
Cross section test section, the ground water level was measured with pore pressure transducers. The groundwater table varied strongly.
Measured groundwater level (ppt1). Air bubbles disturbed the measurements of ppt6.
Measured strains in the geotextile reinforcement
The geotextile strains did not respond clearly to the changing groundwater table
The geotextile strains seem to relate with the average day temperature
The measured geotextile (GR) strains are smaller than the values calculated with the Concentric Arches model, that is utilized by the Dutch Design Guideline CUR226 for basal reinforced piled embankments
The analytical Concentric Arches model (van Eekelen et al., 2013 and 2015). The load is transferred via the arches towards the subsurface and pile caps.
Conclusions field experiments
- The analytic Concentric Arches model calculates larger geotextile strains than measured and therefore gives a safe prediction
- The groundwater level does not affect the geotextile strains
- The air temperature affects the geotextile strains
- For this case, with these geotextiles, and this high ground water level, design guideline CUR226 for basal reinforced piled embankments, that applies the Concentric Arches model, gives a safe design.
Consortium
Private partners
- Solmax / TenCate
Knowledge Institutes
- Deltares, Delft, The Netherlands
- Kyung Hee University, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
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.
