EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF FOUNDATION WITH SOIL REINFORCEMENT IN SANDY GROUND

The authors propose a new caison type pile foundation with steel bars which reinforce the surrounding ground. In this paper, they investigate on the effectiveness of this foundation by model tests and numerical analysis. Model tests are carried out by changing density and rigidity of bars for reinforcement. As the result, it is made clear that the reinforcement is very effective for increasing of bearing capacity and rigidity in sandy ground. Then, the optimum density and rigidity of bars are supported to exist.By the analysis of these tests, the mechanism of reinforcement is proved to consist of two factors, such as structural effect of bars and effect by soil reinforcement. Numerical analysis by FEM are carried out and make sure that it is able to evaluate the effectiveness of reinforcement with sufficient accuracy.