M. BERRABAH Fouad

MCA

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Department

CIVIL ENGINEERING

Research Interests

Civil Engineering Geotechnical Engineering Numerical Modelling

Contact Info

University of M'Sila, Algeria

Email : f.berrabah@univ-msila.dz

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Recent Publications

2025-01-08

Effect of prestressed geosynthetic-reinforced embankment over locally weak sabkha zone by numerical approach

In this paper, the effects of prestressing geosynthetic reinforcement on settlement reduction in embankments overlying locally weak zones are investigated through numerical analyses using the PLAXIS finite element code. The selected case study focuses on the reinforcement of a road embankment spanning approximately 11 km across soft sabkha soils in the Chott El Hodna region of Algeria. The construction site presents significant challenges due to the presence of locally weak zones with very low bearing capacity and liquid consistency, making them unsuitable for supporting road embankments without the risk of excessive differential settlements. The study examines the influence of key parameters, including the strength of the underlying weak zones, the magnitude of the 2025prestressing force, and the tensile stiffness of the geosynthetic reinforcement. Numerical results indicate that incorporating prestressed geosynthetics significantly improves the settlement response of the embankment, particularly in areas overlying locally weak zones. This technique enhances load distribution, minimizes localized pressure on weak zones, and mitigates the risk of excessive differential settlements.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, (2025-01-08), "Effect of prestressed geosynthetic-reinforced embankment over locally weak sabkha zone by numerical approach", [national] Studies in Engineering and Exact Sciences , Studies Publicações

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2024-12-15

DYNAMIC MODELING OF SOIL-STRUCTURE INTERACTION FOR SEISMIC PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF REINFORCED CONCRETE BUILDING

This study focuses on the effect of soil-structure interaction on the dynamic behavior of structures subjected to seismic movements. A 2D model of a simple minaret, 18.4 meters tall with a width and length of 3.5 meters, was analyzed using the SAP2000 V21 finite element software. Two types of seismic loading were applied: the response spectrum of Algerian seismic regulations (RPA 99 version 2003) for low seismicity (zone: Z1), and accelerograms measured at the Keddara site in Boumerdès, Algeria, in 2003. The soil foundation is classified as type S3 (loose soil), and the analysis included conditions both with and without soil-structure interaction.
The results indicate significant impacts of soil-structure interaction: the inclusion of soil effects led to a 25% reduction in base shear and a 15% increase in the fundamental period of the structure compared to the reference model without soil interaction. Additionally, nodal horizontal displacements at the top of the building increased by 40% when accounting for soil-structure interaction, affecting the overall stability and design considerations. This study underscores the importance of incorporating soil-structure interaction in the design process, as neglecting these effects could lead to underestimating the seismic demand and potentially compromise structural integrity.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, (2024-12-15), "DYNAMIC MODELING OF SOIL-STRUCTURE INTERACTION FOR SEISMIC PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF REINFORCED CONCRETE BUILDING", [national] JOURNAL OF APPLIED ENGINEERING SCIENCES , Sciendro

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2023-03-13

Valorization of Cement Kiln Dust (CKD) from the Ain-Al-Kebira Cement Plant (Algeria) in Building Materials

Solid waste management is one of the world's major environmental concerns. Cement Kiln Dust (CKD) is a by-product of cement manufacturing. It is a fine-grained, solid and highly alkaline particulate material. Environmental concerns related to Portland cement production, CO2 emissions and CKD disposal are becoming increasingly important. Replacing some of the cement with CKDs will significantly reduce the amount of clinker to be produced, which will then reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere and transform the CKDs into useful products while allowing sustainable concrete/mortar to be produced in an environmentally friendly way.
This work is part of the recovery of machining waste from the manufacture of cements produced from a local Algerian cement plant, in particular CKD cement kiln dust. Study of the use of CKD influence in mortar and concrete reveals that the percentage increase in CKD accelerates setting time. From the obtained results (simple compression and bending tension) we can conclude that the use of CKD in mortar can be favorable for substitution and/or addition up to 10%.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, Guettouche Amar, Merdas Abdelghani, Guechi Lyazid, , (2023-03-13), "Valorization of Cement Kiln Dust (CKD) from the Ain-Al-Kebira Cement Plant (Algeria) in Building Materials", [national] Annales de Chimie - Science des Matériaux , International Information and Engineering Technology Association

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2020-11-18

Conception et retour d’expérience de la construction du remblai routier franchissant Chott El Hodna

Cette communication s’intéresse au retour d’expérience de la réalisation du tronçon routier d’environ 11 km franchissant la sebkha du Chott El-Hodna en Algérie. La faible portance du sol de sebkha et la présence d’eau en surface ont posé de sérieuses difficultés de reconnaissance géotechnique et de mise en oeuvre de la première couche du remblai. L'utilisation des géosynthétiques dans la construction de ce remblai a montré des effets très pertinents en augmentant la portance du sol support indispensable à la mise en place des premières couches du remblai, en améliorant la qualité du compactage des couches de remblai et en franchissant des zones localisées de très faible portance. En se basant sur les observations in situ et les résultats de reconnaissance géotechnique, des expérimentations numériques ont été effectuées à l’aide du logiciel PLAXIS. Les résultats numériques ont mis en évidence les conditions de contribution des géosynthétiques à l’amélioration de la portance du sol de sebkha et la réduction du tassement différentiel occasionné par le franchissement des zones localisées de très faible portance.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, BENMEBAREK Sadok, BENMEBAREK Naima, , (2020-11-18), "Conception et retour d’expérience de la construction du remblai routier franchissant Chott El Hodna", [international] 3ème Conférence Maghrébine en Ingénierie Géotechnique CMIG’13 , Algérie

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2020-06-28

Numerical analysis of embankment reinforced by geosynthetics on sabkha soil

Sabkha soils are coastal and inland saline deposits of arid climates consisting mainly of loosely cemented sandy silt to silty clay particles. Accordingly, they are characterized by being highly compressible, and hence considered among the poorest of foundation materials. One of the most economical soil improvement solutions is the use of geosynthetics. This paper presents a numerical simulation using the PLAXIS software of the geosynthetic reinforced road embankment constructed on sabkha of Chott El Hodna in the north middle of Algeria. Due to the poor bearing capacity sabkha surface and the arising water table over the soil surface serious difficulties were faced during the investigation of the subsurface soil and the construction of the road embankment. The visual observation of the sabkha site and analysis of geotechnical test results show that the sabkha soil is characterized by poor mechanical properties and high compressibility. The main objective of this study was to assess the effect of reinforcement by geosynthetic on the construction embankment layer quality, the settlement and stability of the embankment. The results of the study indicate that the reinforcement does not have a significant influence on the absolute settlement of the embankment but, improves the conditions of implementation and the quality of the embankment, especially under wet conditions. In addition, the use of reinforcement in embankment construction may allow for an increase in the design factor of safety and, an increase in the height of the embankment. Moreover, the reinforcement may also reduce horizontal displacements of the underlying soil.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, BENMEBAREK Naima, BENMEBAREK Sadok, , (2020-06-28), "Numerical analysis of embankment reinforced by geosynthetics on sabkha soil", [international] 3rd International Conference on New Developments in Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering , Near East University, Nicosia, North Cyprus

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2020-04-11

Evaluation numérique du tassement et du temps de consolidation d’un remblai sur sol compressible

La construction des remblais sur sols compressibles pose de nombreux problèmes, qui sont associés d’une part à la faible résistance de ces sols, qui entraîne des difficultés à assurer la stabilité des remblais, et d’autre part à leur forte compressibilité, qui se traduit par des tassements et déformations importants des ouvrages. La présente communication s’intéresse au calcul numérique de l’amplitude du tassement et du temps de consolidation d’un remblai sur sol compressible, en utilisant le code PLAXIS. Le sol de fondation a été simulé en utilisant le modèle pour les sols mous (Soft Soil Model, SSM) et le modèle de Mohr Coulomb (Mohr Coulomb Model, MCM). Le but de cette étude est, d’une part, de comparer entre les deux modèles de comportement en termes de tassements et de surpressions interstitielles et, d’autre part, de confronter les résultats numériques aux résultats analytiques obtenus par la méthode de Terzaghi. Concernant les tassements calculés avec le modèle pour les sols mous (SSM), les tassements résultants à la fin de la consolidation sont en accord avec ceux calculés analytiquement par la méthode de Terzaghi. En outre, les surpressions interstitielles calculées avec le modèle de Mohr Coulomb (MCM) sont en accord avec celles calculées analytiquement par la méthode de Terzaghi.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, BENMEBAREK Sadok, , (2020-04-11), "Evaluation numérique du tassement et du temps de consolidation d’un remblai sur sol compressible", [national] Les 1ers Workshops de Génie Civil , Université Ziane Achour de Djelfa, Algérie

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2020

Three-Dimensional numerical analysis of geosynthetic-reinforced embankment over locally weak zone

This paper presents a three-dimensional numerical analysis using PLAXIS 3D software of geosynthetic-reinforced embankment over locally weak zones (LWZ). The case study considered here is the construction of road embankment reinforced by geosynthetics on soft sabkha soil of Chott El Hodna in Algeria. The construction site of this project presents a high risk of crossing locally weak zones which are characterised by very high compressibility and liquid consistency. The main objective of this paper is to demonstrate the three-dimensional (3D) effects on the differential settlement of geosynthetic-reinforced embankment over locally weak zone. The influence of some parameters, namely the height of the embankment, the stiffness of the geosynthetic, the diameter of the locally weak zone and the friction angle of the embankment fill is also analysed. By comparing the results of 2D and 3D numerical analyses, it was demonstrated that the 3D effects have a great influence on the load transfer mechanisms within the geosynthetic-reinforced embankment. In addition, the results show that the 3D settlement predictions were lower than the corresponding values from the 2D predictions due to the higher arching effect predicted by the former. Further, the results of the parametric study indicate that the arching effect is strongly affected by the height of the embankment and the diameter of the locally weak zone.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, BENMEBAREK Sadok, BENMEBAREK Sadok, , (2020), "Three-Dimensional numerical analysis of geosynthetic-reinforced embankment over locally weak zone", [national] Transportation Infrastructure Geotechnology , Springer

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2019

Modélisation Numérique du Comportement d’un Groupe de Pieux dans l’Argile Molle

Cet article présente une comparaison des modélisations numériques du comportement de pieu isolé, et de groupe de pieux dans les sols cohérents très mous. Différentes modélisations numériques ont été effectuées à l’aide du logiciel PLAXIS. Les résultats numériques sont comparés avec ceux des différentes approches analytiques disponibles dans la littérature en soulignant les avantages des approches numériques. L’analyse précise de la manière dont se mobilise l’effet de groupe des pieux au niveau du frottement latéral et de la résistance de pointe pour des pieux installés dans l’argile molle.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, (2019), "Modélisation Numérique du Comportement d’un Groupe de Pieux dans l’Argile Molle", [international] 1st International Congress On Advances in Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Management ICAGECM'19 , Skikda, Algeria

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Numerical analysis of geotextile-reinforced soil above an underground cavity

The presence of underground cavities in certain areas suitable for development represents a risk of sinkhole formation, which can be potentially detrimental to the smooth operation of infrastructure and the safety of users. A study based on two-dimensional finite element analyses under plane strain condition was performed by PLAXIS code to investigate the behavior of geotextile-reinforced soil above an underground cavity. The effects of depth of single layer, tensile stiffness, number and length of reinforcement layers, and size of cavity on settlement of ground surface and head of cavity have been investigated. Results indicated that when a single layer of reinforcement is used, there is a critical depth at which settlements are maximum. Maximum settlements reduce with increase in stiffness of reinforcement. Also settlements reduce with increase in number and length of reinforcement but there is a critical value for number and length of geotextile which increase more than this certain value has not significant effect on reduction of settlements.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, (2019), "Numerical analysis of geotextile-reinforced soil above an underground cavity", [international] 1st International Congress On Advances in Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Management ICAGECM'19 , Skikda, Algeria

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2018

Étude numérique du comportement d’un remblai routier traversant des zones faibles localisées : Application au cas du chott El-Hodna

La présente communication s’intéresse à l’analyse numérique en utilisant le logiciel PLAXIS du comportement d’un remblai traversant des zones faibles localisées. Le cas étudié concerne la réalisation du tronçon routier d’environ 11 km franchisant la sebkha du Chott El-Hodna au Nord centre de l’Algérie. Les observations du site et les investigations géotechniques ont indiqué que le sol de cette sebkha est caractérisé par une forte compressibilité, une faible portance et contient des zones faibles localisées d’ampleur limitée. L’utilisation des géosynthétiques de renforcement dans la construction de ce remblai a montré des effets très pertinents en augmentant la portance du sol support indispensable à la mise en place des premières couches du remblai et en franchissant des zones localisées de très faible portance sans tassement différentiel remarquable en surface. L’objectif principal du présent travail est d’évaluer l’effet du renforcement sur l’atténuation des tassements différentiels induits par les zones faibles. Les résultats montrent que l’efficacité du renforcement dépend principalement de l’apparition de l’effet d’arc dans le matériau du remblai.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, BENMEBAREK Sadok, , (2018), "Étude numérique du comportement d’un remblai routier traversant des zones faibles localisées : Application au cas du chott El-Hodna", [international] 4ème Colloque International Sols Non Saturés & Construction Durable, UNSAT Oran 2018 , Oran, Algérie

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2017

Effet du renforcement par géosynthétique sur la performance d’un remblai traversant des zones faibles localisées

Cette communication présente une analyse numérique en utilisant le code PLAXIS d’un remblai renforcé traversant la sebkha du Chott El-Hodna sur 11 km au Nord centre de l’Algérie. Le site de construction est compliqué parfois par la présence des zones faibles localisées caractérisées par une teneur en eau supérieure à la limite de liquidité. Ces zones faibles sont des sols problématiques parce qu’elles ont une forte compressibilité. Ainsi, ces zones ne sont pas adaptées pour supporter le remblai routier sans le risque de tassements différentiels importants. La solution retenue par la maîtrise d’oeuvre est le traitement du remblai par technique géosynthétique. Dans notre communication, nous étudions l’effet du renforcement sur la réduction des tassements différentiels induits par les zones faibles. Les résultats montrent que l’efficacité du renforcement dépend principalement des mécanismes de transfert de charges dans les remblais sur zones faibles localisées renforcés par géosynthétiques.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, BEMEBAREK Sadok, , (2017), "Effet du renforcement par géosynthétique sur la performance d’un remblai traversant des zones faibles localisées", [international] International Symposium on Construction Management and Civil Engineering ISCMCE 2017 , Skikda, Algeria

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2016

Effect of geosynthetic on the performance of the embankment crossing locally weak zones

This paper is interested by numerical analysis using PLAXIS code of geosynthetic reinforced embankment crossing a section of about 11 km on sabkha soil of Chott El Hodna in Algeria. The site observations and the geotechnical investigations indicated that the soil of this sabkha is characterized by high compressibility, low bearing capacity and contains locally weak zones of limited extent. The use of the geosynthetics in the construction of this embankment was found to have very relevant reinforcing effect by increasing the bearing capacity of the subgrade to allow for safe construction of the first layers of the embankment and allowing the cross of locally weak zone. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of reinforcement on the reduction of differential settlements induced by the weak zones. The results show that the effectiveness of the reinforcement depends mainly on the appearance of the arching effect within the embankment fill.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, BENMEBAREK Naima, BENMEBAREK Sadok, , (2016), "Effect of geosynthetic on the performance of the embankment crossing locally weak zones", [international] 2nd International Conference on Material and Structural Mechanics MSM 2016 , Marrakech, Morocco

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Numerical analysis of prestressed geosynthetic-reinforced embankment over locally weak zone

In this paper, the effects of prestressing the reinforcement on the settlement reduction of a reinforced embankment overlying locally weak zone are being investigated through a numerical analysis using PLAXIS code. The influences of parameters such as strength of underlying locally weak zone, magnitude of prestressing force and the stiffness of geosynthetic are being examined. The results indicate that the addition of prestress to the reinforcement causes in significant improvement of the settlement response of the embankment over locally weak zone.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, BENMEBAREK Sadok, , (2016), "Numerical analysis of prestressed geosynthetic-reinforced embankment over locally weak zone", [international] 12th International Congress on Advances in Civil Engineering ACE2016 , Bougaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey

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2015

Effect of geosynthetic on the performance of road embankment over sabkha soils in Algeria: Case study

This paper focuses on the construction technique of road embankment which crosses a section of about 11 km on sabkha soils of Chott El Hodna in Algeria. Due to the poor bearing capacity of sabkha surface and the rising water table over the surface, serious difficulties were encountered during the investigation of the subsurface soil and the construction of the first embankment layers. In this construction site, the use of basal geosynthetic layer to maintain the performance of embankment was found to have relevant reinforcing effect by increasing the soil bearing capacity to allow safe construction of the first layers and improving the compaction quality. Based on the in situ observations and the geotechnical investigation, numerical simulations were performed using the software PLAXIS. The results have shown the contribution conditions of geosynthetics to improve the bearing capacity of sabkha soils.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, BENMEBAREK Sadok, BENMEBAREK Naima, BELOUNAR Lamine, , (2015), "Effect of geosynthetic on the performance of road embankment over sabkha soils in Algeria: Case study", [national] International Journal of Geosynthetics and Ground Engineering , Springer

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Effect of geosynthetic reinforced embankment on locally weak zones by numerical approach

This paper presents a numerical simulation using PLAXIS code of geosynthetic reinforced embankment over locally weak zones. The case study concerns the reinforcement of the road embankment which crosses a section of about 11 km on sabkha soil of Chott El Hodna in Algeria. This salt flat is dry in summer but gets flooded in winter. The site observations and the geotechnical investigations indicated that the soil of this sabkha is characterised by high compressibility, low bearing capacity and contains locally weak zones of limited extent. The main objective of this paper is to assess the effect of geosynthetic reinforcement on the settlement of the embankment over locally weak zone. The influence of some parameters, namely the compressibility parameter of locally weak zone, the stiffness of geosynthetic, the locally weak zone geometry and the friction angle of embankment fill is also analysed. The results show that the computation with large displacement is more suitable than small displacement for this problem and the differential settlement improvement is due to the combination of the membrane strength effect of the geosynthetic and the arching effect within the embankment fill.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, (2015), "Effect of geosynthetic reinforced embankment on locally weak zones by numerical approach", [national] Computers and Geotechnics , Elsevier

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2014

Numerical Analysis of Reinforced Embankment on Algeria Sabkha Subgrade

This paper is interested by numerical analysis using PLAXIS code of geosynthetic reinforced embankment crossing a section about 11 km on sabkha soil of Chott El Hodna in Algeria. The site observations indicated that the surface soil of this sabkha is very sensitive to moisture and complicated by the presence of locally weak zones. Therefore, serious difficulties were encountered during building the first embankment layer. This paper focuses on the use of geosynthetic to mitigate the difficulty encountered. Due to the absence of an accepted design methods, parametric studies are carried out to assess the effect of basal embankment reinforcement on both the bearing capacity and compaction conditions. The results showed the contribution conditions of geosynthetics to improve the bearing capacity of sabkha soil.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, (2014), "Numerical Analysis of Reinforced Embankment on Algeria Sabkha Subgrade", [international] XII International Conference on Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics ICCEAM 2014 , Dubai

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L’effet du renforcement par nappes de géosynthétique sur la performance d’un remblai sur sol compressible

Cette communication présente la simulation numérique d’un remblai renforcé par des nappes géosynthétiques sur sol compressible. Une application numérique a été faite sur le remblai de la route traversant sebkha du Chott El Hodna en Algérie. La faible portance du sol de sebkha et la présence d’eau en surface ont posé de sérieuses difficultés de reconnaissance géotechnique et de mise en œuvre de la première couche du remblai. L’observation visuelle du site de la sebkha et l’analyse des résultats d’essais géotechniques montrent que le sol de la sebkha est caractérisé par des propriétés mécaniques de mauvaise qualité et une forte compressibilité. La simulation numérique à l’aide du logiciel PLAXIS montre l’effet du renforcement sur le tassement et la stabilité du remblai. Les résultats de l’étude montrent que le renforcement n’a pas d’influence significative sur le tassement absolu du remblai mais améliore les conditions de mise en œuvre et la qualité du remblai.
Citation

M. BERRABAH Fouad, BENMEBAREK Sadok, , (2014), "L’effet du renforcement par nappes de géosynthétique sur la performance d’un remblai sur sol compressible", [international] 1er Colloque International Sol, Eau et Environnement CISEE’2014 , Annaba, Algérie

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