Geotextile sand container shoreline protection systems: Design and application

The use geotextile sand containers (GSCs) as shoreline protection systems, has grown moderately since the first applications in the 1970s. This slow growth can be attributed to two factors; firstly, the lack of understanding of coastal processes and design fundamentals by the larger geosyntheticcommunity in order to provide coastal engineers with suitable solutions, and secondly; there has been very little rigorous scientific wave flume testing with which to analyse the wave stability of geotextile sand containers.The application of geotextile containers in coastal protection works can be traced back to early works carried out in 1970s. The application of these types of structures was somewhat haphazard as very little was understood about the wave stability and durability of the structures. Early wave stability work was carried out Ray (1977) and Jacobs (1983) with small containers, however, the testing programs were limited and did not provide sufficient confidence in the product to carry out exhaustive engineering design. As a result, the technology until recently has relied on manufacturers’ design suggestions based on monitoring of actual structures. Over the past five years, coastal population pressure, extreme events and concerns over climate change and sea level rise have resulted in more emphasis being placed on shoreline protection systems. Geotextile manufacturers have responded to the challenges put forward by design engineers and intensive research has been carried out in the field.This paper outlines the current “state of the art” in terms of the design and specification of geotextile sand containers (GSC). This paper covers the key issues which will ensure the long term integrity of a geotextile shoreline protection system is maintained, these issues include: • Container stability; • Detailed analysis of recent large scale wave flume testing which assess filling capacity, size of container, structure slope and scour protection etc.; • Container/geotextile durability; • Methods and specifications used to limit the effects of the fundamental factors affecting the life span of geotextile containers such as vandal resistance, UV degradation and abrasion resistance etc.     

Hydraulic conductivity requirement of granular and geotextile filter for internally stable soils

A filter media satisfying the hydraulic conductivity requirements allows unimpeded seepage without generation of surplus pressure head and decrease of flow rate. This paper proposes design criteria for the hydraulic conductivity requirements of a filter based on governing flow equations. The results have shown that the hydraulic conductivity requirements of pressure head and flow rate are satisfied with a single condition of hydraulic conductivity of filter greater than or equal to the hydraulic conductivity of soil times the hydraulic gradient in soil. The proposed model is developed for saturated conditions and is also applicable for partially saturated conditions. The developed model is validated based on the experimental evaluations of sandy soil with three granular filters and two needle punched non-woven geotextile filters. The developed design criterion applies to internally stable soils with granular and geotextiles filters and offers an improvement in the standards and current design guidelines for protective filters.     

Effect of deformations on the hydraulic stability of coastal structures made of geotextile sand containers

The hydraulic stability of geotextile sand containers (GSCs) for dune reinforcement, seawalls, revetments and artificial reefs for shore protection against storm waves has been studied within an ongoing extensive research program at Leichtweiß Institute. Although the effect of the deformation of the sand containers on the hydraulic stability is significant, no stability formula is available to account for this effect and the associated processes which have led to the observed failures. To achieve a better understanding of these processes and to analyze the influence of the deformations on the stability of coastal structures made of GSCs, different types of scale model tests have been performed. Results from a variety of scale model tests on: (i) wave-induced forces on the sand containers, (ii) internal movement of sand in the containers and (iii) underlying processes leading to the deformations and displacement of the containers have clarified many of the hydrodynamic processes involved, showing that indeed the deformations of the geotextile sand containers substantially affect their stability.     

Physical model studies on damage and stability analysis of breakwaters armoured with geotextile sand containers

Harnessing the advantages of geotextile sand containers (GSCs), numerous submerged breakwaters and shoreline protection structures have been constructed worldwide. But an emerged breakwater structure with geotextile armour units, capable of replacing the conventional structures, is rarely discussed. A 1:30 scaled physical experimentation is chosen as a preliminary investigation to test the feasibility of using GSCs as breakwater armour units. Structural design is evolved based on a comprehensive literature survey. The paper focuses on the stability parameters and damage characteristics of the proposed structure. Four different configurations are subjected to waves, confining to Mangaluru's wave parameters. Effect of armour unit size and sand fill ratio on the stability of the structure is analysed and it is concluded that changing sand fill ratio from 80% to 100% shot up the structural stability to a maximum of 14%. Increasing bag size also resulted in the increased stability up to 8%. Experiments revealed that the best performing configuration could withstand wave heights up to 2.7 m. Stability curves for all tested configurations are discussed and can serve as an effective guideline for designing GSC breakwaters.     

Cyclic behaviour of dry silty sand reinforced with a geotextile

Recent studies on construction material technology have indicated that soil reinforcement improves resistance of soil against compression and tension. Due to the wide use of geotextile reinforcement in road construction, the potential benefit of geotextile reinforcement in cyclic loading should be investigated. In this study we performed a series of cyclic triaxial tests to examine dry silty sand reinforced with geotextile when subjected to dynamic loading. These tests were conducted on reinforced and unreinforced dry sand and sand mixed with varying amounts of silt (0–50%). The main factors affecting the cyclic behaviour, such as the arrangement and number of geotextile layers, confined pressure and silt content are examined and discussed in this paper. The results indicate that geotextile inclusion and increased confining pressure increase the axial modulus and decreased cyclic ductility of dry sand for all silt contents examined. Also, it was found that by increasing the silt content by up to about 35 percent the axial modulus in reinforced and unreinforced sand is decreased and cyclic ductility increased. With further increases in silt content, these values are increased for cyclic axial modulus and decreased for cyclic ductility.     

Influence of clogging substances on pore characteristics and permeability of geotextile envelopes of subsurface drainage pipes in arid areas

This study investigates the influence of clogging substances on pore characteristics and permeability of geotextile envelopes that were used for 3, 7 and 15 years in irrigated farmlands in Xinjiang region, which is arid and suffers from the soil salinity problem. Results show that the macropores (above 125 μm) of envelopes are evidently clogged, whereas the smaller pores less than 100 μm are still unblocked after operation. The permeability coefficients of geotextile envelopes after serving for 3 and 15 years are smaller than the minimum required permeability coefficients after clogging. The main chemical components of clogging substances in the geotextile envelope are silicon dioxide and calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate content of the geotextile envelope is consistent with calcium carbonate content of soil. Chemical clogging susceptibility increases with the operation time of the subsurface drainage pipes. The ratio of O₉₀ size of envelope material over d₉₀ of soils (O₉₀/d₉₀) and saturation index (SI) can be used to assess the susceptibility of physical and chemical clogging respectively. This study provides a preliminary reference for estimating the clogging susceptibility of geotextile envelopes in arid areas.     

Effect of armour unit layers and placement mode in the determination of stability of geotextile sand container (GSC) breakwaters

Geosynthetic Sand Containers (GSCs) are increasingly harnessed for their coastal protection capabilities. Recent studies point to its efficacy to be used even as armour units of breakwaters. The current investigation aims at understanding the effect of armour unit layers and placement modes in altering the stability of GSC breakwaters. Single-layered and double-layered GSC structures with slope parallel and perpendicular placement are tested for stability against wave conditions of the Mangaluru coast. A 1:30 scaled monochromatic wave flume model study is adopted to detail the damage levels and stability of various GSC breakwaters. It is observed that the stability of structure increased by up to 17% when supplemented with double layers. Structure tends to be stable with increasing armour units size and fill percentage. Larger bags stacked to double layers is found to be the most stable configuration. 80% filled, slope parallel placement exhibited the least stability. The paper dealt with all factors affecting structure stability and deduced stability nomograms helpful for coastal engineers to design GSC breakwaters.     

砂土液化及液化后流动特性试验研究

根据流体力学中的绕球定常黏性流动理论,在振动台试验的基础上,设计了一套砂土液化及液化后流动特性的试验装置。在振动台模型箱的砂土中埋入可以水平滑动的钢球,当砂土发生液化时使钢球发生水平运动,通过测量钢球所受的阻力来反算液化及液化后砂土的表观动力黏度,进而研究液化及液化后砂土的流动特性。试验中考虑了砂土的初始相对密度、钢球的运动速率、液化后砂土的超孔压比等因素的影响。试验结果表明,液化及液化后状态下砂土的表观动力黏度随着应变率的增大而减小,液化砂土呈现出剪切稀化的非牛顿流体特性。随着液化后超孔压比的降低,表观动力黏度也逐渐增大,通常随着应变率的增大,表观动力黏度–超孔压比曲线逐渐变缓。     

砂固结预应力锚杆的室内试验及锚固机理分析

砂固结预应力锚杆的锚固力是由砂体与锚孔壁之间的摩擦力提供的。设计了一系列室内试验对这项技术深入地作了研究。基于试验成果对砂固结锚固机理作了探讨。     

Morphological insights into the liquefaction and post-liquefaction response of sands with geotextile inclusions using drained constant volume simple shear tests

The present study aims to explore and bring out morphological insights into the prior-liquefaction, liquefaction, and post-liquefaction response of sands with geotextile inclusions. For this, a series of multi-stage drained constant volume simple shear tests with different cyclic stress ratios (CSR ranging from 0.1125 to 0.225) and different frequencies (f of 0.2 and 1.0 Hz) were carried out on completely dry specimens constituted with granular materials of three distinct grain morphologies (rounded, subrounded, and angular) reinforced with a nonwoven geotextile. The study also consists of morphological quantifications through image analysis algorithms and direct shear tests on sand-geotextile interfaces. Test results revealed that the inclusion of geotextile increased the liquefaction resistance and post-liquefaction shear strength of all the materials, irrespective of their particle morphology. However, the beneficial effects are more in the case of specimens constituted with angular particles. The effect of loading frequency on the response is also established. The interlocking and ploughing tendency of the angular particles leads to the mobilization of the maximum tensile strength of geotextile, which enhances the additional confinement and prevents the lateral movement of particles, thereby providing the maximum benefit.     

地震作用下饱和回填砂土重力式挡土结构滑动与转动位移分析

 预测地震作用下重力式挡土结构的位移是基于位移抗震设计方法的关键。基于Newmark滑动理论、超孔隙水压力应力模型和累积损伤原理,建立饱和回填砂土中超孔压比时程计算模型,以及墙体滑动和转动临界加速度时程计算模型。基于所建立的模型,提出用于计算饱和回填砂土重力式挡土结构滑动和转动位移的计算方法。采用该方法,分析土体参数和地震动参数对墙体滑动及转动位移的影响,并对墙体滑动与转动的耦合作用进行研究。结果表明,填土不发生液化的情况下,滑动位移对土体相对密度和墙体与地基土间的摩擦角十分敏感;转动位移对输入地震的震级、水平加速度和竖向加速度、填土的内摩擦角、墙背摩擦角和相对密度均较为敏感。超孔隙水压力对墙体滑动和转动位移的影响不可忽视。在地震作用下墙体与墙后填土破坏土楔体共同运动的假设条件下,墙体滑动与墙体转动相互抑制。     

Performance of mortar and concrete made with a fine aggregate of desert sand

At this moment there is no national specification concerning the application of desert sand with very fine grain. To be able to apply desert sand to mortar and concrete in civil engineering, mortar and concrete made of Tenggeli desert sand and Maowusu sandy land sand have been tested in order to clarify their engineering characteristics. Based on the determined chemical composition and the physical characteristics of desert sand, the mechanical properties of mortar and concrete made of two types of desert sand as fine aggregate were investigated. The results of the tests indicate that desert sand can be used as a fine aggregate in mortar and concrete for general civil engineering.     

Shear banding in drained and undrained triaxial tests on a saturated sandstone: Porosity and permeability evolution

Detailed analysis of shear band formation and shear band microstructure formed in drained and undrained triaxial tests on Fontainebleau sandstone is presented. It is shown that under globally undrained conditions, local fluid exchanges inside the sample occur at shear banding resulting into a heterogeneous damage pattern along the shear band. At high confinement, pore pressure generation inside the band leads locally to fluidisation of the crushed material, which results into the formation of connected channels in the heart of the band. Image processing analysis is used for evaluation of porosity inside the shear band and estimation of the permeability is performed using the Walsh and Brace [The effect of pressure on porosity and the transport properties of rock. J Geophys Res 1984; 89 (B11): 9425–31] model. It is shown that, porosity increase as observed in the band at low confining pressure and porosity decrease as observed at high confining pressure are both accompanied by a reduction of permeability inside the shear band due to the increase of tortuosity and specific surface. However, this permeability reduction is much more important at high confining pressure and can reach values three orders of magnitude smaller than the permeability of the intact material.     

Comparison of bearing capacity of a strip footing on sand with geocell and with planar forms of geotextile reinforcement

Comprehensive results from laboratory model tests on strip footings supported on the geocell and planar reinforced sand beds with the same characteristics of geotextile are presented. The various parameters studied in this testing program include the reinforcement width, the number of planar layers of geotextile and height of the geocell below the footing base. Contrary to other researches, the performance of the geocell and planar reinforcement is investigated at the range of low to medium settlement level, similar to those of interest in practice. The results show that the efficiency of reinforcement was decreased by increasing the number of the planar reinforcement layers, the height of the geocell reinforcement and the reinforcement width. For the same mass of geotextile material used in the tests at the settlement level of 4%, the maximum improvement in bearing capacity (IF) and percentage reduction in footing settlement (PRS) were obtained as 2.73 and 63% with the provision of geocell, respectively, while these values compare with 1.88 and 47% for the equivalent planar reinforcement. On the whole, the results indicate that, for the same quantity of geotextile material, the geocell reinforcement system behaves much stiffer and carries greater loading and settles less than does the equivalent planar reinforcement system. Therefore, a specified improvement in bearing pressure and footing settlement can be achieved using a lesser quantity of geocell material compared to planar geotextile.     

砂土的剪胀理论及其本构模型的发展

经典的应力剪胀理论被广泛应用于土体弹塑性本构模型的建立,较好地模拟了黏性土的变形特性。最新的研究表明:由于应力剪胀理论中忽略了土体内部状态参量对剪胀的影响,而使得该理论应用于砂土时发生了困难。近来一些学者纷纷将土的密度作为变量引入剪胀方程,提出了状态相关剪胀理论,成功地模拟了砂土的各种变形特性。本文就砂土的状态及其描述、剪胀理论的发展、砂土本构模拟等方面进行介绍。     

黄河特细砂瓷砖粘结砂浆的配制及影响因素研究

以黄河特细砂为集料制备水泥基瓷砖粘结砂浆,研究胶粉和纤维素醚用量对砂浆流动度、砂浆力学性能以及抗冻性能的影响.结果表明:砂浆稠度随着胶粉用量的增加而增大,当胶粉用量为胶凝材料质量的0.7％时,砂浆的抗压、抗折强度及抗冻性能最佳;随着纤维素醚用量的增加,砂浆稠度逐渐增大,黄河特细砂瓷砖粘结砂浆的强度逐渐降低,拉伸粘结强度逐渐增大.利用黄河特细砂制备的粘结砂浆性能符合JC/T 547-2005《陶瓷墙地砖胶粘剂》标准要求.为黄河特细砂资源的有效利用提出了一条经济可行的途径.     

Experimental research on water retention and gas permeability of compacted bentonite/sand mixtures

Highly compacted bentonite-based materials are often considered as buffer or sealing materials for deep high-level radioactive waste repositories. In situ, the initial state of bentonite-based materials is only partially saturated, which has a very high suction that will promote water absorption from the host rock. In addition, a gradient of water saturation will be formed between the external part and the central part of the compacted bentonite blocks. In this paper, water retention tests, under both constant-volume and free-swelling conditions, were performed to investigate the suction behavior of a compacted bentonite/sand mixture. In order to investigate the sealing ability of the partially saturated bentonite/sand mixture, gas permeability tests were also carried out under the in situ confining stress. It was found that the confining conditions have a limited effect on the water retention capacity of the compacted bentonite/sand mixture at lower levels of relative humidity (RH), while this influence is significant at higher RH levels. The results of gas permeability tests show that gas permeability is very sensitive to the water content and the confining pressure. When the sample (stable at RH=98%) was subjected to a in situ confining pressure (7–8 MPa), the gas permeability was very low (1.83×10^–14 m/s) which indicates that gas tightness can be obtained even though the sample is not fully saturated.     

砂土循环累积变形规律与显式计算模型研究

海洋基础在上部结构风和波浪等长期循环荷载的作用下产生累积变形,易影响海上风电机组等构筑物的正常服役性能,其本质是基础周边土体的循环累积变形问题。针对该问题,开展了一系列饱和砂土在排水条件下的循环剪切三轴试验,研究了动应力比、初始密实度、初始平均应力和初始静应力比等土性和应力参数对循环累积变形的影响,发现随动应力比、初始平均应力和初始静应力比的增大及初始密实度的减小,饱和砂土的轴向循环累积应变增大。从试验数据分析来看砂土轴向循环累积应变和循环次数之间近似存在双对数线性关系。将砂土轴向循环累积应变与第一次循环轴向应变归一化能消除上述土性和应力参数的影响,进而分析了第一次循环轴向应变与土性和应力参数之间的关系,通过引入与密实度相关的砂土抗剪强度计算表达式,建立了饱和砂土在排水条件下的循环累积变形显式计算模型,适合海洋基础长期循环累积变形分析。     

干砂最大剪切模量的共振柱与弯曲元试验

对德国 4 种干砂试样进行了共振柱与弯曲元对比试验,旨在分析弯曲元法测定砂土最大剪切模量时存在问题和解决方法。研究表明：时域初达法判定的剪切波传播时间较其他方法具有更好的稳定性;弯曲元试验测定最大剪切模量输入电压脉冲频率的减小而减小,衰减程度因砂土类型而异,该影响随围压的增大而减弱;对比分析表明,弯曲元与共振柱试验测定的最大剪切模量具有良好的线性关系,对柏林砂和不伦瑞克砂,存在一个临界最大剪切模量,小于该临界值时,弯曲元测值大于共振柱测值,而大于该临界值时,前者小于后者,两者差值随土样刚度增大而增大。对比研究指出,弯曲元试验尽可能采用合适高频脉冲电压作为激发电压,实践中应事先与共振柱试验进行对比。