Three-dimensional numerical modeling of geogrid reinforced foundations

A novel three-dimensional numerical model for the biaxial geogrid reinforcement is proposed in this paper that can incorporate the direction-dependent strength and stiffness properties and the actual grid-like structure of the geogrid reinforcement, which are crucial for soil-geogrid interactions. First, the numerical model consisting of cable structural elements is validated against wide width tensile test results reported in the literature. Next, the geogrid reinforcement model is validated with published experimental and numerical results on reinforced foundations. Two different cases, the bearing capacity of foundation in geogrid-reinforced soil and the uplift capacity of anchor plates in geogrid-reinforced sand, are selected from the literature for validation. The numerical results reasonably agree with the experimental results for both the bearing and uplift cases. The results indicate that the proposed approach can predict the behavior of geogrid reinforcement and can be used for modeling and analysis of other geogrid-reinforced structures.