Experimental and numerical modelling of geosynthetic encased stone columns subjected to shear loading

This paper presents the experimental and numerical study for analyzing the shear load capacity of geosynthetic encased stone columns (GESC). Past studies on GESC have mainly focused on the vertical load capacity. However, they may also be subjected to significant amount of shear loading for instance, near the toe of high embankments and retaining walls. The shear load capacity of the GESC depends on the diameter of the column, over burden pressure acting on the soil and strength properties of geosynthetic etc. In order to analyze the shear load capacity of GESC, laboratory tests were performed using a large shear box with GESC. The experimental results were compared with those obtained by 3-dimensional numerical modelling using FLAC3D software. The results showed that the geosynthetic encasement provides an additional confinement to the aggregates which leads to improvement in the performance of GESC.