The study of ground and embankment treatment techniques in road widening

Now many expressways are confronted with embankment linking and widening, which cause uneven settlement and pavement cracking along the joint between the old and new roads, especially on soft ground. It is important to systematically analyze the performance of different ground and embankment treatment techniques used in road widening. A numerical model based on plane strain finite element method (FEM) is carried out to analyze the behaviors of embankment and foundation at widening. Four ground and embankment treatment techniques including embankment reinforcement, light weight embankment, cement deep mixing pile and separating wall are compared in their effectiveness through uneven settlement, horizontal displacement, and stress condition. It has been approved that light-weight embankment has the most effectiveness among four treatments. Copyright ASCE 2006.