Analytical modeling of geogrid reinforced soil foundation

This paper aims at developing analytical solutions for estimating the ultimate bearing capacity of geogrid reinforced soil foundations (RSF) for both sand and silty clay soils. Failure mechanisms for reinforced soil foundations are proposed based on the literature review and the results of experimental study on model footing tests conducted by the authors. New bearing capacity formulas that incorporate the contribution of reinforcements to the increase in bearing capacity are then developed for both reinforced sand and silty clay soil foundations based on the proposed failure mechanisms. The predicted bearing capacity values are compared with the results of laboratory model tests on reinforced sand and silty clay soil. The proposed analytical solutions were also verified by the results of large-scale model tests conducted by the authors for reinforced silty clay and the data reported in the literature. The predicted bearing capacity values from analytical solutions are in good agreement with the test results.