Effect of Reinforcement on Bearing Capacity of Loose Sand Foundation and Deformation Behavior of Buried Flexible Pipes

The present study investigates if improving the bearing capacity of foundations with reinforcement layers could reduce deflection of a pipe buried under reinforced sand. A series of model tests were conducted to examine the bearing capacity of foundations and deformation behavior of a pipe according to the number of reinforcement layers, reinforcement material, and buried depth of pipe. The results showed that bearing capacities significantly improve by increasing the number of reinforcement layers up to two layers, however no further improvement in bearing capacity was observed with more than two layers. The reduced settlement caused by improved bearing capacities with embedded reinforcements had little effect on resistance to deflection when the depth of the buried pipe was greater than the width of the footing. However, the resistance to pipe deflection by installation of reinforcement was greatly increased when installed at a depth less than the width of the footing.