Influence of creep and stress-relaxation of geosynthetic reinforcement on embankment behaviour

The effects of viscous behaviour of geosynthetic reinforcement on both the short-term and long-term performance of basally reinforced embankments over inviscous soft foundations are investigated. The construction of embankmen ts reinforced with both viscous reinforcement and inviscous reinforcement i s numerically simulated to identify the magnitude of creep and stress-relax ation of reinforcement under both limit-state and working stress conditions and the consequent effects on the stability and deformations of the system . The effects of viscoelastic properties of four reinforcement products mad e of polyester, polypropylene, and polyethylene are examined. It is shown t hat the viscous behavior of geosynthetic reinforcement can decrease the sho rt-term stability, and the creep of geosynthetic reinforcement can signific antly magnify the long-term shear deformations of the foundation soil. The isochronous stiffness can reasonably represent the mobilized reinforcement stiffness at the end of construction. The mobilized reinforcement stiffness and force are examined and the design considerations are discussed.