Experimental Investigation for Failure Mechanism and Bearing Capacity of Strip Footing on Soil Reinforced with Geotextile Following the Shukla's Wraparound Reinforcement Technique

The latest advancements in the area of soil reinforcing techniques based on geosynthetics have pushed researchers to enhance new approaches to advance the benefits obtained from the reinforced soils. In this regard, the approach of wraparound reinforcement has made further advancement in the soil’s bearing capacity, but the technique is destitute of the applicable recommendations for the geometrical configuration parameters, soil–reinforcement interaction, and failure mechanism. Within this scope, a test setup was prepared to apply strip loads on densely compacted reinforced sand (D_r = 0.7) under the plane strain condition. The tank containing the reinforced sand was a rectangular prism with perfect transparency, and its interior dimensions were 960 mm × 200 mm × 650 mm. Firstly, optimum values of design variables such as embedment depth of the first wraparound reinforcement, horizontal and vertical lengths of the wraparound end and straight portion length of reinforcement with the wraparound ends for the wraparound geotextile reinforced sand were determined experimentally. Then, the failure mechanisms of the soil, which were reinforced with wraparound geotextile, were observed and analyzed with particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. The results of this investigation will assist geotechnical engineers in reducing the amount of land required for the construction of geotextile-reinforced soil while increasing the load-bearing capacity. This is important at a time when increasing building densities and land scarcity have become global issues.