This study investigates the mechanical performance and deformation characteristics of reinforced retaining walls constructed with stabilized silty clay and geogrid reinforcement. Laboratory tests evaluated the physical and mechanical properties of native silty clay, identifying its high water content and poor gradation as primary challenges for engineering applications. A stabilization method incorporating 2 % soil stabilizing liquid, 10 % densifying powder, and 4 % Portland cement was optimized to enhance clay compaction, shear strength, and compressive strength. Model experiments were conducted under varying wall configurations, including natural slopes, stabilized retaining walls, and reinforced stabilized walls with different slope ratios. Results show that the combination of stabilization and reinforcement significantly improved load-bearing capacity, minimized vertical settlement, restricted horizontal displacement, and reduced lateral earth pressure. Comparative analysis of slope ratios revealed that gentler slopes enhanced deformation resistance and reduced geogrid strain. These findings offer practical insights and theoretical support for designing efficient retaining wall systems using stabilized silty clay.

This study conducted an experimental and numerical investigation on the stabilization of clayey subgrades using nano-silica and geogrid reinforcement. Nano-silica was incorporated in varying contents (0-4%) to assess its effects on Atterberg limits, compaction behavior, shear strength, and California bearing ratio. The results showed optimal performance at 2.5% nano-silica, with reduced plasticity index and enhanced dry density, cohesion, friction angle, and bearing capacity. A three-dimensional finite element model was developed to simulate subgrade behavior under cyclic loading, incorporating the effects of both nano-silica and geogrid layers. The model was calibrated using laboratory data to reflect observed settlement and stress distribution. The numerical results confirmed that nano-silica reduced settlement significantly up to the optimal content, while geogrid reinforcement further enhanced load distribution and reduced displacement. The combination of nano-silica and geogrid resulted in improved mechanical performance of the subgrade. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of integrating chemical stabilization and mechanical reinforcement in clayey soils to improve structural capacity and reduce long-term deformation, providing a viable solution for pavement subgrade enhancement.

Expansive soils are susceptible to cracking due to significant moisture fluctuations, which can potentially lead to structural instability. Although geogrid reinforcement is widely used to control soil swelling and shrinkage, its effects on cracking behavior are not fully understood. This study investigates the influence of geogrid reinforcement on the cracking behavior of expansive soils by comparing soil samples reinforced with two layers of geogrid to unreinforced samples under evaporation conditions. Crack development was monitored using high- resolution imaging and fluorescence tracing to measure crack depth and calculate surface crack ratio. Additionally, moisture content distribution and evaporation rates were assessed. The results show that geogrid reinforcement reduced the total crack ratio by 1.34% and decreased average crack depth by 43.5%, leading to a more uniform crack distribution with smaller openings. Both internal and external cracks facilitated moisture exchange between the soil and atmosphere. The frictional and interlocking effects at the soil-geogrid interface effectively inhibited cracking and reduced moisture migration. The uniaxial geogrid also induced anisotropy crack restraint, with environmental exposure and geogrid orientation playing critical roles in crack control. Overall, these findings demonstrate the effectiveness of geogrids in enhancing the stability of expansive soils and limiting atmospheric influence through crack suppression.

Soils and geosynthetics are terms used interchangeably whenever the physical and mechanical properties of the soil are unlikely to sustain the load coming over it. Several studies have been undertaken to determine the benefits of using geosynthetic products instead of conventional procedures such as stone columns, jet grouting, soil nailing, and so on. As far as geotechnical applications are concerned, geogrid is the most widely utilised polymeric product. This paper provided an overview of geogrid's numerous applications, including pavements, airport runways, railroads, building foundations, MSE walls, bridge embankments, and landfills. Furthermore, this bibliometric analysis has revealed the important laboratory model experiments done on geogrids as well as numerical finite element and finite difference model analysis. An overview of several case studies involving geogrid reinforcement in large projects was also documented; the review also discussed the present trends and opportunities for future development of new geogrid reinforcement technologies within the same of the literature collection to have better clarity for comparison.

Geosynthetic materials are a sustainable solution for pavement applications, but this depends on the materials and their application. Geosynthetics are artificial materials used in pavement construction to improve soil stability, drainage, filtration, separation, and other functions. Geosynthetics in pavement foundations can reduce the need for natural resources such as aggregates, sand, and gravel, allowing conventional construction materials to be used more sustainably. Furthermore, geosynthetics have a longer life span and a lower carbon footprint during production, transportation, and installation when compared to traditional materials. The effectiveness of the geosynthetic material used depends on various factors, including the materials used, the manufacturing process, the application, and the end-of-life disposal. The article seeks to present an overview of geosynthetic products like geogrid and geofoam, as well as their interactions with different pavement foundation soils. This paper delves deeper into the load transfer mechanism in geogrid, and arching effect in the geofoam, and the optimal placement of these materials to improve load-carrying capacity and reduce surface deformations by increasing soil shear strength. Furthermore, the benefit of using geofoam as a replacement material for soil to promote sustainability by conserving natural resources and effectively reusing renewable and recyclable materials was studied. An in-depth evaluation of geofoam response under cyclic loading was also studied.

The freezing and thawing cycle is one of the primary causes of damage and instability to buildings in seasonal frost regions. During this process, the mechanical properties of soil are affected, leading to settlement, cracking, or deformation of infrastructure. Mitigating or reducing the occurrence of building frost damage in seasonal frost regions has become an important subject of study. Freeze-thaw (F-T) action will influence the distribution of moisture inside the reinforced soil and change the strength of thawing soil, which is closely related to the main influencing factors, such as initial moisture content, compaction degree, reinforced spacing, number of freeze-thaw cycles (FTC), freezing temperature, and effective vertical stress. Cohesion is an important index to determine the shear strength of clay, which is important to analyze the change in cohesion after F-T. Meanwhile, cohesion is closely related to soil moisture content. This study conducted orthogonal experiments on these primary influencing factors (6 factors at 5 levels) through FTC tests, triaxial tests, and moisture content tests to determine the undrained cohesion and moisture content of the clay after FTC, thereby establishing the influence of reinforcement on soil strength under freeze-thaw conditions. Based on the experimental results, SPSS software was used to fit the regression equations of undrained cohesion and moisture content expressed by the main influencing factors at different heights of the clay. Optimization options for the main influencing factors were obtained with Matlab software when the highest undrained cohesion values 6.8, 10.6, 8.9 kPa and lowest moisture content values 24.0%, 24.3%, 26.2% appeared in upper, middle and lower parts of the testing clay structure respectively, in conditions of - 15 degrees C freezing temperature and 5 times FTC. And determined the optimal combinations of moisture content, reinforcement spacing, compaction density, and vertical load at different heights. Decreasing reinforced spacing in silty clay was beneficial for liquid underwater seepage after F-T. The redistribution of internal moisture in the soil sample strengthened its undrained cohesion, thereby increasing the soil's shear strength. Comparing reinforcement conditions at different locations, it was found that when there were 3 layers of reinforcement with a spacing of 150 mm between them, this spacing was optimal. It played a significant role in improving the soil's shear strength and enhancing its bearing capacity. For reinforced clay itself, the order of the main factors influencing the undrained cohesion of soil after F-T, from high to low, was initial moisture content, reinforced spacing, and compaction degree.

Reinforcing calcareous sands with geogrids is a potentially effective method for large-scale geotechnical constructions in coastal lands. The breakable nature of polygonal calcareous sands determines the complex particlegeogrid interactions. A three-dimensional numerical model of geogrid reinforced calcareous sand (GRCS) was established to investigate the potential mechanical laws based on the discrete element method (DEM), and the reasonableness of the numerical model was verified by comparing with the indoor triaxial test. It follows that the macro-microscopic mechanical behavior of GRCS under the influence of aperture size and tensile resistance of geogrids was further investigated via effective DEM simulations. The presented results show that the decreased aperture size and increased tensile resistance are beneficial to enhance the macro-mechanical properties of GRCS, including strength, internal friction angle and pseudo cohesion. Particle crushing is mainly affected by shear strain and confining pressure. The bulging deformation of GRCS is partially suppressed due to the confining effect of geogrids. Besides, the source of strength enhancement of GRCS is revealed based on the microscopic particlegeogrid interactions, and the calculation method of horizontal and vertical additional stresses in the reinforced soil element considering the effects of tensile resistance and aperture size is further established.

Geogrid reinforcement has a limiting effect on the lateral deformation and thus improves the shear strength of the soil, the overall strength of the soil and the overall stability of the corresponding geotechnical structure. In this study, large-scale triaxial tests without and with geogrid reinforcement were conducted on three typical gravelly soils in Xinjiang using a large-scale triaxial apparatus. The shear strength and deformation characteristics of gravelly soils with different particle shapes and the stress-strain relations, strength characteristics, damage patterns, and reinforcement effects of gravelly soils with and without reinforcement were investigated. Geogrid reinforcement effectively enhances the strength of the soil; the internal friction angle remained relatively constant with and without reinforcement, whereas the cohesive force increased significantly. The reinforcement effects interpreted from the results obtained from the triaxial tests were discovered when a certain deformation or relative displacement with the reinforcement materials of the soil occurred. Under uniform test conditions, the volumetric strain of the samples of gravelly soil with reinforcement significantly decreased with increasing confining pressure, and the difference in volumetric strains with and without reinforcement was greater when the confining pressure was higher. The highlight of this study is its significance in explaining the reinforcement mechanism in gravelly soils and in selecting engineering design parameters.