# Analysis of Load Transfer and the Law of Deformation within a Pile-Supported Reinforced Embankment
## 5 Conclusions  
Model tests and finite element method have been carried out to analyze the mechanism of load transfer, deformation behavior, and soil-arching geometry with different embankment-filling cohesion in this study. The controllability of the filling cohesion is achieved by filaments, which are incorporated into the sand with varying percentages of weight. Following conclusions can be drawn,  
1. When the filling is completed, changing the filling cohesion affects the load-transfer efficiency. It has more influence on the load distribution above the pile cap, while less on the load distribution above the subsoil. As the filling cohesion increases, the soil-pressure difference between the corner and center of the pile caps decreases.
2. The filling cohesion affects the pile-subsoil load-transfer efficiency during the embankment filling process. The pile-subsoil stress ratio falls with the increase of filling cohesion. The curves of the pile-subsoil stress ratio grow rapidly at the beginning and then tend to stabilize at the later stage.
3. With a rise in filling cohesion, the pile-subsoil differential settlement and soil-arching height both decrease. Pile-soil differential settlement at the mid-span of four piles is greater than at the mid-span of two piles. Meanwhile, the soil-arching height between the diagonal adjacent piles is higher than that between the horizontal adjacent piles. The above results the net pile spacing between diagonally adjacent piles is greater than the net spacing between horizontally adjacent piles.
4. The soil-arching crown in the embankment is roughly the same height as the net pile spacing. The influence of filling cohesion on the soil-arching height is more significant only in the case of less cohesive working conditions.
5. The vertical displacement inside the embankment decreases with the increase of filling cohesion. The equal settlement plane and the soil arching both have the same height.  
In summary, the indoor model experiment and finite element method are used as the research tool in this paper. The influence of cohesion (the filling property) on mechanical behavior and deformation behavior of the pile-supported reinforced embankments is further investigated. The investigation is under the 3D condition to better understand the working properties of pile-supported reinforced embankment in the case of square pile  
Figure 15: The curve of Vertical displacement in embankment, (**a**) result of M1; (**b**) result of M3; (**c**) result of M4.  
placement. The research results show that the filler cohesion greatly influences the stress redistribution in the embankment. And its influence on the internal deformation pattern of the embankment is small.  
Writing-original draft preparation, D.Z.; funding acquisition, G.Y.; writing-review, X.W.; project administration, Z.W.; Methodology, H.W. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2022 YFE0104600); the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52079078); the Key R&D Projects in Hebei Province (Grant No. 20375504D); and the Hebei Provincial Department of Transportation Science and Technology Project (Grant No. RW-202014).  
Not applicable.  
The data used to support the findings of this research are available from the corresponding author upon request.  
The authors declare no conflict of interest.