Abstract
Abstract
In recent years, the widening of existing highways has emerged as a prominent focal point in highway construction. However, uneven settlement often occurs when highways are widened, which sometimes leads to the cracking of pavements, particularly, on a soft soil foundation. Drainage piles have been used to strengthen soft soils by reducing settlement and accelerating drainage consolidation. However, the drainage effect on the consolidation characteristics of drainage piles is still unclear. In this paper, a series of centrifuge model tests were conducted to study the consolidation characteristics of soft soil fixed with drainage piles in highway widening. The test results show that an obvious settlement exists in the old embankment shoulder, whereas a smaller settlement occur near the embankment axis and below the toe of the new embankment. In comparison with the ordinary pile and drainage board, the drainage piles hasten the settlement process of the soil foundation, indicating that drainage piles can significantly accelerate the consolidation of the soft soil foundation.