# Analysis of Load Transfer and the Law of Deformation within a Pile-Supported Reinforced Embankment
## 1 Introduction  
The design solution of pile-supported reinforced embankment has been frequently used to overcome issues (stability and settlement) encountered in soft subsoil areas [1]. The embankment load is mainly shared by the piles and a bearing stratum through the soil-arching effect and the membrane effect. Therefore, it is possible to effectively control the post-construction settlement. On the basis of theoretical analysis, field testing, model tests, and simulation studies, a series of studies on the load-transfer mechanism and the deformation patterns of soil arching have been carried out by numerous academics. Due to the intricacy of its functional properties, there are still gaps in our understanding of the soil-arching effect. Numerous approaches have been offered to calculate the load transfer efficiency of the soil-arching effect. [PERSON] [2] established the theoretical model of soil arching, whichis based on the redistribution phenomenon of the stress above rigid pipes. [PERSON] [3] established a model in which the soil is divided into inner cylindrical and outer cylindrical soil, and deduced a mathematical model for calculating load transfer efficiency based on [PERSON] theory. [PERSON] et al. [4] improved [PERSON]'s approach by considering the friction coefficient \(\beta\) between the inner and outer soil columns is non-constant. [PERSON] [5] revealed that soil arching is, in essence, a phenomenon of stress distribution, and proposed a two-dimensional soil arching model through various trapdoor tests. It was later extended by [PERSON] and [PERSON] [6] to a three-dimensional soil arching model. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [7] put forward a semi-spherical model in response to model tests, assuming that the crown or feet of arching are in the ultimate state. The British standard, BS8006-1 [8] adopted both this model and [PERSON]'s theory. [PERSON] & [PERSON] [9] improved the H&R model and proposed a multi-arching model composed of semi-spheres with different centers, which was incorporated into the German standard, EBGEO [10]. Furthermore, [PERSON] [11] found that the load distribution above the reinforcement is an inverted triangle through the test and proposed an arching model with concentric hemispheres. [PERSON] [12] argued that the foundation soil between piles only bore the weight of the wedged soil and established a wedged soil arching model under this assumption, and the model was adopted by the Nordic Design Guide [13]. Related research [14] shows that the existing soil arching models used to calculate the pile load-sharing ratio differ from each other because of the different assumptions. The physical model test, a reliable way to evaluate the operational performance of pile-supported reinforced embankments, has been widely used. Numerous laboratory model tests based on the trapdoor test have been conducted by several academics. [PERSON] et al. [15] used coarse sand to fill the centrifuge tests. They investigated into how soil arching changed as a result of internal friction angle of filling and embankment height. Dry sand was utilized to fill indoor model tests by [PERSON] [16] and [PERSON] et al. [17] in order to study the impact of pile spacing and embankment height on the embankment's load-transfer mechanism. [PERSON] [18] studied arching with different fillers (Toyoura sand, silica sand, and dry powder clay) and used X-ray CT scanning. [PERSON] [19] and [PERSON] [20] used the photoelastic experiment technology, which took the photoelastic material as the filling, and studied the evolution process of macroscopic soil arching effect morphology. [PERSON] et al. [21] used transparent soil as filler, mainly composed of high-purity quartz particles, and studied the evolution of arching under static load. [PERSON] et al.