This paper presents an experimental study of the load bearing behavior of geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) bridge abutments constructed on yielding clay foundation. The effects of two different ground improvement methods for the yielding clay foundation, including reinforced soil foundation and stone column foundation, were evaluated. The clay foundation was prepared using kaolin and consolidated to reach desired shear strength. The 1/5-scale GRS abutment models with a height of 0.8 m were constructed using sand backfill, geogrid reinforcement, and modular block facing. For the GRS abutments on three different yielding foundations, the reinforced soil zone had relatively uniform settlement and behaved like a composite due to the higher stiffness than the foundation layers. The wall facing moved outward with significant movements near the bottom of facing, and the foundation soil in front of facing showed obvious uplifting movements. The vertical stresses transferred from the footing load within the GRS abutment and on the foundation soil are higher for stiffer foundation. The improvement of foundation soil using geosynthetic reinforced soil and stone columns could reduce the deformations of GRS abutments on yielding foundation. Results from this study provide insights on the practical applications of GRS abutments on yielding foundation.

本文对在屈服粘土地基上建造的土工合成材料加筋土（GRS）桥台的承载性能进行了实验研究。评价了加筋土地基和石柱地基两种不同地基改良方法对屈服粘土地基的效果。使用高岭土制备粘土基础并进行固结以达到所需的剪切强度。1/5比例GRS基台模型高度为0.8 m，采用回填砂建造，土工格栅加固和模块化块饰面。对于三种不同屈服地基上的 GRS 桥台，加筋土区具有相对均匀的沉降，并且由于比基础层具有更高的刚度，因此表现得像复合材料。墙体饰面向外移动，靠近饰面底部的位置移动明显，饰面前方的地基土出现明显的抬升运动。对于较硬的地基，GRS 桥台内和地基土壤上的基础荷载传递的垂直应力较高。采用土工合成材料加筋土和石柱对地基土进行改良，可以减少GRS桥台在屈服地基上的变形。这项研究的结果为 GRS 基台在屈服地基上的实际应用提供了见解。