Yes / Reinforced piled embankment technique is becoming increasingly utilised for the construction over soft grounds due to its efficiency on reducing potential settlement, speed of construction and associated cost. Most of previous studies focused on developing understanding for the behaviour of thick embankments that are loaded with a static surcharge load. Data for the behaviour of shallow piled embankments under cyclic loadings are scarce. In this study, an experimental programme was undertaken using a fully instrumented testing rig to generate data and improve our understanding for the behaviour of unreinforced and reinforced shallow piled embankments subject to monotonic and cyclic loadings that were applied over a predetermined area of the embankment. The experimental results showed that collapse of soil arching is imminent and occurs during the first few cycles of load. However, regain of strength and recovery of the arching effect was observable during further stages of cyclic loadings due to densification of the embankment material and deformation of the soft subsoil. Inclusion of reinforcement layers was found to enhance the performance of load transfer mechanisms by concentrating stresses on pile caps. The results clearly showed a significant reduction in surface settlement, soft subsoil settlement and heaving with increasing the number of reinforcement layers.

Yes / Arching in soils has received great attention due to its significance on the soil–underground structure interaction. The state of stress on underground structures as a result of cycles of active and passive arching was neither explored nor systematically assessed. In the present study, comprehensive investigation was carried out to examine: i. the effects of displacement direction to induce active or passive arching, ii. the behaviour of subsequent arching, iii. the effect of magnitude of initial displacement on the formation of arching and iv. the influence of soil height on sequential active and passive arching. The results showed that alternating the displacement of the underground inclusion exacerbated the formation of active and passive arching leading to a substantial reduction in shear resistance and stress redistribution. It is noted that sequentially alternating displacement of the underground inclusion was detrimental to the formation of full active and passive arches irrespective of the burial height.