12123 Harbour Reach Dr Mukilteo, WA, USA 98275
Tel 425-493-6200 Fax 425-493-6250
Application Stories
Baton
Rouge, Louisiana: The Louisiana Transportation Research Center recently conducted
a year-long test of a reinforced-soil embankment built on a soft-clay foundation.
The researchers wanted to evaluate the performance of several types of reinforcement
materials and to learn how the embankment would deform with settlement of the
foundation soil.
The
embankment is 6 meters high, 47 meters long, and 8 meters wide, with a vertical
facing of modular blocks. Tensar UX 1600 geogrid, shown in the photograph at left,
was installed to improve the load-carrying capacity of the weak base soil. Other
types of reinforcement grids were installed behind the facing, extending 4 meters
into the embankment. The back of the embankment was completed with a 1:1 slope.
The
drawing at right shows the locations of the instrumentation used to monitor deformation
of the embankment. Most settlement was expected near its face. Two horizontal
inclinometers
were installed, one along the length of the face and the other across
the the embankment. The horizontal inclinometers, which provided high-resolution
settlement profiles, were complemented by a number of settlement plates
and by optical survey targets located on the facing. Lateral deformations
were monitored by eleven vertical
inclinometers and by survey targets on the facing.
Monitoring
began at the beginning of construction and continued through the year. The horizontal
inclinometer measurements (left) compared well with the settlement plate data
(below) and the survey targets. The plots shown here span the first six months
of project. The largest settlements occurred about 1.5 meters from the facing,
as expected. Lateral displacements at the facing varied from 12 to 50 mm. At the
end of the year, the largest settlement was 355 mm (14 inches).
Thanks
to Dr Khalid Farrag, PE and the Louisiana
Transportation Research Center
for contributing this story. Dr Farrag is the research coordinator
for the LTRC's Geosynthetics Engineering Research Laboratory. The LTRC
was created to conduct research to improve transportation systems in Louisiana.
Its projects are largely funded by the US Federal Highway Administration.
Baton
Rouge, Louisiana: The Louisiana Transportation Research Center recently conducted
a year-long test of a reinforced-soil embankment built on a soft-clay foundation.
The researchers wanted to evaluate the performance of several types of reinforcement
materials and to learn how the embankment would deform with settlement of the
foundation soil.
The
embankment is 6 meters high, 47 meters long, and 8 meters wide, with a vertical
facing of modular blocks. Tensar UX 1600 geogrid, shown in the photograph at left,
was installed to improve the load-carrying capacity of the weak base soil. Other
types of reinforcement grids were installed behind the facing, extending 4 meters
into the embankment. The back of the embankment was completed with a 1:1 slope.
The
drawing at right shows the locations of the instrumentation used to monitor deformation
of the embankment. Most settlement was expected near its face. Two 
Monitoring
began at the beginning of construction and continued through the year. The horizontal
inclinometer measurements (left) compared well with the settlement plate data
(below) and the survey targets. The plots shown here span the first six months
of project. The largest settlements occurred about 1.5 meters from the facing,
as expected. Lateral displacements at the facing varied from 12 to 50 mm. At the
end of the year, the largest settlement was 355 mm (14 inches).
Thanks
to Dr Khalid Farrag, PE and the