Performance of Geocell-Reinforced Embankment under Long-Term Cyclic Loading

Geocells, widely applied in engineering areas, have been proved to be able to fortify embankments alongside geogrids, which shows excellence in inhibiting deformations. Nonetheless, academic research lacks systematization and lags drastically behind practical engineering application, particularly in the realm of long-term durability assessments. In this study, physical model experiments were carried out by the USTX-2000 loading mechanism to investigate the effect of diverse extended cyclic loading situations. Findings indicated that long-term cyclic loading caused approximately 51% reduction in vertical deformation compared with that of unreinforced conditions, and this effect tended to be stable at the later loading phases. Notably, in the early stage of loading, embankments reinforced with two or three layers exhibited superior inhibitory effects in vertical deformations. Both heightening the geocell structure and decreasing welding space improved the vertical deformation inhibition effect. Over long-term cyclic loading, embankments reinforced with two to three layers witnessed a notable reduction of over 90% in horizontal displacements on slope surfaces compared with that under unreinforced conditions. In particular, the inhibitory effect on upper slope surface horizontal deformations was distinctly superior in embankments with two or three reinforcement layers compared with that under mono-layer conditions. Elevating geocell heights demonstrated a more obvious effect in inhibiting horizontal deformations compared with welding space decrease. Collectively, the optimal reinforcement configurations for sand embankments gravitated toward condition 3, involving two reinforcement layers, a geocell height of 10 mm, and a welding space of 50 mm.