The Role of Footing Reinforcement by Micropiles: an Experimental and Numerical Study

Micropiles (MPs) are structural elements used in new geotechnical projects that are also commonly used to reinforce pre-existing footings. The idea of the current research is to examine the use of MPs as a reinforcement of footings. The study was divided into two main parts: the experimental part, which used a physical model to represent the soil’s condition (sandy silt soil from Mosul City), and the flat footing system reinforced with MPs. The second part involved using a computer program to conduct a parametric study after performing a numerical study to represent the physical model. The behavior of the load-settlement curve for the reinforced footing was examined in both parts, and its performance was contrasted with that of the unreinforced footing (flat footing). In the experimental part, footings reinforced with MPs were examined under a variety of scenarios, including layered and non-layered soil conditions and whether to reinforce the footing with a single MP or a group of MPs. By enhancing the footing’s ultimate load and reducing settlement, it was noted that the MPs effectively reinforced the footing. Additionally, the behavior of the load-settlement curves for the various footing conditions adopted in the study is clearly affected by the soil conditions. In the numerical part, the characteristics of the MPs including the distribution pattern of the MPs and the angle of inclination of the MPs are studied using a set of variables known as the parametric study. The numerical analysis demonstrated that incorporating MPs into the footing improved its performance significantly. The results demonstrated that all of the variables looked at in the parametric study have an impact on the ultimate load and the settlement of the footings.