Numerical and model studies of strip footing supported by a reinforced granular fill-soft soil system

Laboratory model tests have been carried out using a rigid strip footing supported on dense sand overlying soft clay with and without a layer of geotextile reinforcement at the interface. The study aimed at determining the effect of geotextile reinforcement and the thickness of a sand layer on the ultimate bearing capacity and settlement characteristics of the footing resting on a granular fill - soft soil system. It was found that the bearing capacity increases with an increase in the ratio of sand thickness to footing width until it reaches a critical value, which can be considered as the optimum limit of improvement of the bearing capacity of the layered soil. The installation of a geotextile reinforcement at the interface resulted in an appreciable increase in bearing capacity and decrease in settlement of the footing. The optimum thickness of the sand layer for a geotextile-reinforced foundation was found to be 0.8 times the width of the footing, which was significantly lower than that of an unreinfo...