Maccaferri basal reinforcement solutions are designed to reduce the effects of settlement

The need for basal reinforcement is governed by the shearing resistance of the foundation, caused by bearing capacity failure

The stability of an embankment constructed on soft soil is governed mostly by the shearing resistance of the foundation, and is caused by bearing capacity failure. Basal reinforcement should ideally be installed at the foundation level to prevent shear failure both in the embankment fill and in the foundation soil.

Any reduction in differential settlement is of secondary importance. The ultimate limit states considered in BS 8006:2010 are:

• local stability of the embankment fill
• rotational stability of the embankment
• lateral sliding stability of the embankment fill
• foundation extrusion stability
• overall stability

The service ability limit states that must be considered are:

• excessive strain in the reinforcement structure
• settlement of the foundation.

Maccaferri offers a number of solutions used to reduce the effects of settlement in embankments built on soft ground. They are often used in conjunction with each other to optimise the solution both economically and with efficiency of construction. Solutions include the following:

– MacDrain vertical wick drains to accelerate the draining of wet soils to improve their strength
– MacTex H geotextiles to separate poor strata from better quality embankment construction materials
– MacTex W1 and W2 woven geotextiles to reinforce and separate the foundation materials
– MacGrid WG geogrids
– Paralink high strength-low strain geogrids to reinforce the embankment foundations

For more technical information, please contact us.