On the behaviour of shallow foundations constructed on reinforced soil slope – a numerical analysis

The bearing capacity of foundations is one of the interesting subjects in geotechnical engineering. In many cases, constructing foundations on natural or artificial soil slopes to develop the infrastructures is controversial. The construction of foundations on slopes can significantly affect the bearing capacity and slope stability. Soil stabilisation by polymer reinforcements is a modern method employed in various projects to prevent the failure of soil slopes and to improve the bearing capacity of foundations, subsequently. This paper aims to evaluate the bearing capacity of shallow strip foundations constructed on geosynthetic reinforced sand slope using a finite difference programme, FLAC. The effects of geometrical and resistivity parameters of reinforcements layers was investigated for determining the optimal values to achieve maximum bearing capacity. Furthermore, the effects of strength properties of sand embankment, foundation position and slope angle on the behaviour of strip foundation rested on reinforced soil slope were investigated. The results indicated that the bearing capacity of shallow foundations remarkably increased using geosynthetic reinforcement layers.