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As an effective technology for the rapid treatment of soft-soil foundations, geosynthetic encased stone column (GESC) composite foundations are commonly used in various embankment engineerings, including those situated on sloped soft foundations. Nevertheless, there is still a scarcity of stability studies for sloped GESC composite foundations. Several 3D numerical models for sloped GESC composite foundations were established using an equivalent method. The influences of the area replacement ratio and the tensile strength of geosynthetic encasement on the stability were investigated. The results showed that the stability increased nonlinearly with the area replacement ratio, and there existed an optimal area replacement ratio (e.g., 24.56% in this study) to balance the safety and economic requirements. The stability increased linearly with the tensile strength of geosynthetic encasement at low tensile strength levels (lower than 105 kN/m in this study), and the impact was relatively limited compared with that of the area replacement ratio. In addition, the stability generally decreased nonlinearly as the foundation slope decreased, and high-angle (foundation slope close to 30°) sloped GESC composite foundations are recommended to be treated with multiple reinforcement techniques. The relationship between the minimum area replacement ratio and the foundation slope was further quantified by an exponential function, allowing for the determination of the area replacement ratio of various sloped GESC composite foundations and providing theoretical guidance for engineering practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the settlement of saturated clay ground under the time-dependent loading, the unified hardening (UH) constitutive model considering the time effect was used to describe the elastic visco-plasticity of the soil and Hansbo's flow equation was applied to reflect non-Darcian flow. Thus, the classical Terzaghi consolidation equation was modified considering the influence of gravitational stress of the ground. The finite volume method was introduced to solve the numerical solution of the modified equation, and the corresponding program was compiled based on the above algorithm. The applicability of the present program was validated by comparing with the existing results in the literature. Then the effect of some parameters on the consolidation behaviour was investigated. The calculated results showed that the excess pore water pressure in the ground is accumulated at the initial stage of loading. Furthermore, when the viscosity of the soil is considered, the maximum excess pore water pressure in the ground away from the permeable boundary can even exceed the load imposed on the upper surface of the ground. In addition, prolonging the construction period, thickening the soil layer, increasing the secondary consolidation coefficient and the parameters of Hansbo's flow will delay the consolidation process of ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]