Pullout testing and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) analysis of geogrid reinforcement embedded in granular drainage layers

The paper investigates the feasibility of using fine-grained soil as backfill material of geosynthetic-reinforced walls and slopes, through a laboratory study on pullout behavior of geogrids in granular layers. A series of pullout tests was carried out on an HDPE uniaxial geogrid in thin sand and gravel layers that were embedded in clay specimens.Aside from different soil arrangements, the influences of moisture content and overburden pressure on the geogrid pullout behavior is assessed and discussed. The tests were carried out at four different gravimetric water contents (GWC) on the dry and wet sides of the clay optimum moisture content (OMC), and overburden pressure values within the range σ_v = 25–100 kPa. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was used to capture digital images during the tests, which were processed to help with the interpretation and improved understanding of the soil-geogrid interactions at different GWC values. Results show that embedding geogrid reinforcement in layers of sand or gravel can significantly increase the pullout resistance in an otherwise moist clay backfill, and this improved pullout efficiency is greater at higher overburden pressures. The improvement in pullout capacity was observed in clay specimens compacted at both the dry and wet sides of the OMC.     

季节性冻土中土工格栅加筋特性试验研究

针对东北地区典型粉质黏土,通过一系列土工格栅在冻土中的拉拔试验,重点分析了土壤含水率及冻融循环作用对土工格栅加筋性能的影响,并基于拉拔摩擦强度、表观摩擦系数、界面摩擦阻力和端承被动阻力等理论,对试验数据进行了详细分析。研究发现:含水率对土工格栅加筋效果存在明显抑制作用,含水率从20%提高至32%时,筋土界面摩擦阻力和端承被动阻力均减小60%以上。而当含水率一定时(w=24%),冻融循环作用反而提高了土工格栅的加筋效果,经历7次冻融循环后,土工格栅加筋效果增幅为30%左右,主要是横肋前端承被动阻力的提高,而筋土间界面摩擦阻力变化不大。上述试验成果可为土工格栅在冻土地区的推广应用提供一定的理论依据。     

土工布加固软土地基的机理试验研究

土工布与土体的界面摩擦力是衡量其对土体加固效果的关键因素,本文首先根据土工布与土体拉拔摩擦试验的机理,设计并制作了界面剪切测试仪,该试验测试仪具有试验精度高、应用广泛和操作步骤简单的特征,然后采用此测试仪对土工布与砂土的界面摩擦力进行了试验研究,试验参数包括不同的竖向压力、土工布层数和砂土含水率。试验结果表明:增加竖向压力能够显著提高土工布与土体的界面摩擦力;相同竖向压力作用下,土工布层数超过2层时,对其界面摩擦力提高并不显著;相同条件下,当砂土含水率超过5%时,提高砂土含水率能够显著降低土工布与土体界面摩擦力。这些研究结果可为土工布加固土体的设计和施工提供依据。     

A dynamic gradient ratio test apparatus

The soil-geotextile filtration mechanism is a complex process which depends on physical compatibility between the geotextile and the soil to be retained. Several methods have been proposed by researchers for assessing the filtration behaviour of soil-geotextile composite systems under steady state conditions. The Gradient Ratio (GR) test is the most commonly used method for measuring filtration compatibility of soil-geotextile systems. This paper describes the design of a modified GR permeability test apparatus to overcome disadvantages associated with traditional GR test devices. The apparatus can perform filtration tests under static and dynamic conditions and can be used to evaluate the filtration compatibility of fine-grained soils with geotextiles. The apparatus is incorporated within a triaxial testing system, hence representative field stress conditions can be applied to test specimens. Some exemplar GR tests performed on coarse and fine-grained soils with a non-woven geotextile are presented in this paper. Unidirectional dynamic loads are applied within the filtration tests to replicate highway traffic loading. Test results show that dynamic loading affects the filtration behaviour at the soil-geotextile interface by increasing the fine particles migration towards the geotextile, but that, for the soil evaluated here, this effect was small.     

Large-Scale Monotonic and Cyclic Tests of Interface Between Geotextile and Gravelly Soil

A series of monotonic and cyclic shear tests, as well as pullout tests, were conducted on gravel-geotextile interfaces using a large-scale apparatus, with development of a new special pullout test element. The macroscopic response of stress and displacement, as well as the movement and crushing process of soil particles, were observed and measured. The interface exhibited evident strain-softening and aeolotropic normal displacement, which were significantly influenced by normal stress. Shear strength decreased and normal displacement increased with increasing number of shear cycles. Shear deformation was composed of slippage at the contact surface and deformation of the soil constrained by the geotextile; and the thickness was estimated at 5-6 times the average soil grain size. There was significant evolution of physical state due to shear application, including soil particle crushing and soil compression, as well as damage to the geotextile. The pullout test underestimated shear stiffness of the interface due to significant deformation of the geotextile itself. Shear strength increased with increasing normal stress, described by a logarithmic equation, according to the pullout tests, rather than the linear relationship obtained using direct shear tests. Therefore, an appropriate test method should be selected with careful consideration of the site conditions.     

Filtration behaviour of soil-nonwoven geotextile combinations subjected to various loads

Geotextiles are often subject to different load types in their filtration applications. The load action can cause changes in soil density, geotextile stretching and flow interaction at the soil-geotextile interface. All of these load-induced changes to a geotextile may affect the filtration behaviour of the soil-geotextile system. The impact of load type on the filtration behaviour of soil-nonwoven geotextile combinations has been studied through a series of tests using an experimental apparatus designed specially for the laboratory tests. In these tests, the soil-geotextile combination was fabricated by inserting a piece of nonwoven geotextile between a 50 mm thick soil layer and a layer of steel beads. Two chemical-bonded nonwoven geotextiles were employed in this study. One of the three load types, namely sustained, pulsatory and a combination of both was applied to the combination prior to each filtration test. The frequency of the pulsatory load was 0.1 Hz and a total of 5000 cycles of repeated load applied to the combination for each load type test. After applying this specific type of load on a soil-geotextile combination, water was allowed to flow down through the combination from the soil into a drainage layer set at various hydraulic gradients. The flow rates corresponding to elapsed times were measured and the average hydraulic conductivity value was extracted by using Darcy’s law to characterize the filtration performance of the entire soil-geotextile combination. Variations in the average hydraulic conductivity value with respect to the soil void ratio, magnitude and type of normal load were examined.The experimental results revealed that the void ratio of soil decreased with the increase of total load. Although two parent geotextiles under study, namely GT1 and GT2, have similar filtration characteristics, soil-geotextile combinations composed of these two geotextiles exhibited different filtration responses to the normal load. Soil-GT1 combinations exhibited a normal relationship between the average hydraulic conductivity and the normal load applied; the average hydraulic conductivity increased with an increase in the total load. Soil-GT2 combinations exhibited different load-dependent responses to a normal load with the average hydraulic conductivity depending on the magnitude and type of load. Such load-dependent hydraulic conductivity changes are attributed mainly to the geotextile in-plane strain and the pumping action in the combination.     

Laboratory evaluation of governing mechanism of frictionally connected MSEW face and implications on design

This paper presents a laboratory evaluation of purely frictionally connected geotextile and concrete facing block of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Wall (MSEW) systems. The study focuses on investigating the governing failure mechanism along the wall face, as determined from the pullout of reinforcement in between the facing blocks (herein referred as pullout mechanism) and sliding of the blocks over the geotextile, where the reinforcement stays stationery (herein referred as direct shear mechanism). A total of seventy-two tests were performed to investigate the effect of laboratory specimen size, difference in geotextile reinforcement, and repeatability of the test results. Overall, the results showed that at lower normal loads, sliding of the blocks over the geotextile reinforcement along the wall face is more likely to occur before the pullout of the geotextile in between the blocks. At higher normal loads, this order is reversed and pullout of the geotextile appears to occur first. The test results also indicated that the size of the specimen tested in the laboratory frictional connection evaluation has an effect on the measured connection strength.     

新型可视土工拉拔试验仪的研发与应用

研制了一台新型可视自动采集数据的土工拉拔试验装置,可用于多种土工材料和填料作用下的拉拔试验。该装置改进了加载系统和反力系统,实现了拉拔界面的可视与数据采集的自动化,并可量测土工材料不同嵌固长度处的位移,获取土工材料变形值,探索筋土作用过程中筋材受力机理及界面土体位移变化规律。使用新研制的试验装置开展了以砾类粗粒土为填料的格栅拉拔试验,结果表明:上覆荷载增大,土中格栅的应变变小,土体与格栅的界面摩擦和嵌固作用越显著;筋土界面处土体颗粒存在平移及转动两种运动模式,且界面处土体形成稳定的位移集中带。     

Shear strength of interfaces between unsaturated soils and composite geotextile with polyester yarn reinforcement

Composite geotextiles with polyester yarn reinforcement have been commonly used in combination with unsaturated soils. Both unsaturated and saturated shear strength of the interfaces were investigated between a composite geotextile and three major types of materials: silty sand (SM), low-plasticity silt (ML) and high-plasticity clay (CH) in a direct shear box. The interfaces were formed using two methods (A and B) to reflect the wide range of possible contact conditions in practice. Method A involved statically compacting the soil directly on top of the composite geotextile, while for Method B, the soil was statically compacted in a separate mold and later brought into contact with the composite geotextile. Type B interfaces required a larger displacement to mobilize the shear strength than Type A interfaces. The ultimate failure envelopes of SM and ML soils were similar to those of their interface shearing. Notably, the failure envelopes for the clay-geotextile interface of both types were higher than that of clay alone. The unsaturated soil-only shearing had a higher peak strength and tended to dilate more than saturated soil-only shearing, while unsaturated soil-interface shearing appeared to be more contractant than saturated interface shearing. The strength variations with suction for all tested soils and interface shearing were clearly non-linear. A new model that takes account of the condition of soil-geotextile contact intimacy is proposed for predicting the variation of interface strength with suction, based on the variation of the soil's apparent cohesion with suction and the geotextile-water retention curve.     

影响格栅加筋膨胀土拉拔试验的新因素分析

不少学者开展过土中加筋拉拔试验,受测试仪器所限,大多通过改变填土含水率、厚度(上覆法向压力)、类型(粗、细粒土)及拉拔速度等因素来研究对试验结果的影响,除考虑筋材类型(土工格栅、带、网或布)外,对筋土中另一重要影响因素—筋材的初始张拉状态少有研究。本文采用长沙理工大学自行研发的大型数控拉拔试验系统,发挥其尺寸大、双向气囊加载、消除侧壁摩擦等优势,开展膨胀土中格栅加筋拉拔试验,探究筋材尺寸、初始张拉状态、温度、界面残余强度及拉拔方式等新因素对测试值的影响。结果表明:格栅尺寸有一定影响,尤其宽度影响较大;对最大拉拔力而言,格栅应力释放的影响近8.8%;拉拔方式的影响约12.1%;温度的影响为15.9%;残余强度的影响占23.6%。研究结果可供加筋膨胀土工程设计参考。     

Pullout behavior of geosynthetic reinforcement in biocemented soils

The pullout resistance of a geosynthetic reinforcement is crucial for the design of reinforced soil structures. In this paper, an innovative concept, biocementation-geosynthetic (BG) system is presented, in which biocementation is used in combination with geosynthetic to increase the pullout resistance of the geosynthetic reinforcement. A series of pullout tests were conducted in laboratory to obtain the pullout behavior of the biocementation-geosynthetic system. From the pullout test results, it was found that the BG system was more efficient in enhancing the pullout resistant as compared with the ordinary geosynthetic (OG) system. For both geosynthetic strips and biaxial geogrid, the BG system had a higher pullout resistance at various levels of relative density. The BG system with only about 0.65% calcite produced by the biocementation process has a 13%–38% improvement in the pullout resistance compared to the OG system. In addition, the interface shear strength parameters (the adhesion c_a and average interface friction angle ?) of the BG system are also higher than that of the corresponding OG system in most cases, indicating the better interface performance of the BG system.     

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.     

Geosynthetics reinforcement application for tsunami reconstruction: Evaluation of interface parameters with silty sand and weathered clay

Great attention is directed to rebuild livelihoods and rehabilitate coastal communities affected by the Tsunami in the Indian Ocean in South Asia. It takes years of effort of different engineering disciplines to recover from recent devastations caused by the Tsunami. Geosynthetics can play important and vital roles in the protection, mitigation and rehabilitation efforts in affected coastal areas. Geosynthetics can be applied for reinforcement, filtration, drainage, protection, lining, and containment. Particularly, geotextiles can be used effectively for erosion protection and for reinforcement of earth embankments to resist failure during the occurrence of earthquakes associated with tsunami. Presented in this paper is the interaction behavior at pullout interfaces of high strength geotextile confined in weathered clay and silty sand. The interface parameters which are needed for both finite element and conventional analyses of geotextile-reinforced earth structures such as the local shear stress/shear displacement, the interface interaction coefficient and the in-soil stress/strain of the reinforcement have been successfully interpreted by the newly proposed method considering the softening behavior and non-uniform distribution of shear stress along the extensible reinforcement. Results from this study indicate that the interpretation of pullout tests using conventional methods underestimated both the shear stiffness and the peak shear strength at the pullout interface of extensible reinforcement.     

Interface pullout resistance of polymeric strips embedded in marginal tropical soils

This paper presents an experimental and analytical evaluation of factors affecting the interface pullout resistance of polymeric strips embedded in marginal soils, with a particular interest in supporting the partial replacement of natural sands by intensely weathered tropical soils in reinforced soil structures, which have often been considered marginal fills in design guidelines. Large-scale pullout tests were conducted to evaluate the soil-geosynthetic interface pullout resistance, which also provided quantitative insight into the local increases in vertical stresses acting on the reinforcements due to pullout. Based on the experiments, analytical models were developed and calibrated to establish the relationship between confinement and soil-geosynthetic interface pullout resistance. The relationship between actual and initial stresses could then be represented in terms of a linear model in which the angular coefficient corresponds to the ratio between the apparent and actual friction coefficients (f*/f). This analytical relationship was found to represent a useful design tool since it directly correlates with soil geotechnical properties. The use of lateritic soils to partially replace coarse-grained soils in reinforced soil structures was found to be feasible for mixtures involving up to 25% of lateritic soils, with higher fractions affecting the interface resistance significantly.     

柔性与硬性地工格网在砂土与风化泥岩围压下之力学特性

地工格网（以下称格网）用於加劲土壤时，除考虑无围压下的张力行为之外，围压下之力学性质更是设计考量的重点。实际工程应用而言，基於经济考虑，期以现地土壤作为回填材料。本研究分别以拉出、围压抗张与直剪三种试验来探讨格网放土壤中之力学行为；并利用凝聚性泥岩与非凝聚性细砂作为回填材料，评估两种回填材料对加劲成效之影响。结果显示，柔性格网之肋条在拉出过程中易扭曲，造成主应力面旋转的现象，以致拉出阻抗大放硬性格网；围压下格网抗张的应力-应变行为可分为三阶段，即束制阻抗期、张力发展期与破坏期。束制阻抗期大都於3％应变内即已完成；在低围压情况拉出阻抗达20％～60％之拉出强度（相同应变），在高围压下达150％。由直接剪力试验结果可以预测：（a）格网／泥岩加劲结构-低围压时，剪力破坏面应通过格网／泥岩之界面；而高围压时，剪力破坏面应通过泥岩上体。（b）格网／细砂加劲结构-低围压与高围压下剪力破坏面应通过格网／细砂之界面。     

Centrifuge modeling of the geotextile reinforced slope subject to drawdown

Geotextile is an effective reinforcement approach of slopes that experiences various loads such as drawdown. The geotextile reinforcement mechanism is essential to effectively evaluate the safety of geotextile-reinforced slopes under drawdown conditions. A series of drawdown centrifuge model tests were performed to investigate the deformation and failure behaviors of slopes reinforced with different geotextile layouts. The deformation and failure of unreinforced and reinforced slopes were compared and the geotextile reinforcement was indicated to significantly increase the safety limit and the ductility, reduce the displacement, and change the failure feature of slopes under drawdown conditions. The slopes exhibited remarkable progressive failure, downward from the slope top, under drawdown conditions. The progressive failure was induced by coupling of deformation localization and local failure based on full-field measurements of displacement of slopes subjected to drawdown. The geotextile reinforced the slope by decreasing and uniformizing the slope deformation by the soil-geotextile interaction. Through geotextile displacement analysis, the geotextile-reinforced slope was divided into the anchoring zone and the restricting zone by a boundary that was independent of the decrease of water level. The geotextile restrained the soil in the anchoring zone and the soil restrained the geotextile in the restricting zone. The reinforcement effect was distinct only when the geotextile was long enough to cross the slip surface of the unreinforced slope under drawdown conditions.     

Displacement and load transfer mechanisms of geogrids under pullout condition

Reinforcing elements embedded within soil mass improve stabilization through a load transfer mechanism between the soil and the reinforcement. Geogrids are a type of geosynthetic frequently used for soil reinforcement, consisting of equally spaced longitudinal and transverse ribs. Under pullout conditions, the longitudinal ribs are responsible for tensile resistance, while transverse ribs contribute to a passive resistance. This paper describes a new analytical model capable of reproducing both load transfer and displacement mechanisms on the geogrid length, under pullout conditions. The model subdivides the geogrid into rheological units, composed by friction/adhesion and spring elements, mounted in line. Friction/adhesion elements respond to the shear component mobilized at the soil–geogrid interface. Spring elements respond to the geogrid's tensile elongation. Model parameters are obtained through tensile strength tests on geogrids and conventional direct shear tests on soil specimens. The need for instrumented pullout tests becomes therefore eliminated. Results predicted from this new model were compared to instrumented pullout test data from two types of geogrids, under various confining stress levels. The results revealed that the new model is capable of reasonably predicting load and displacement distributions along the geogrid.     

粉砂土岸坡三维加筋生态护坡结构力学效应研究

加筋生态护坡是土工织物与植草相结合形成的一种护坡形式,在保证工程生态性的同时大大提高了生态护坡的强度,有广泛的应用前景。以黑龙江同抚堤防工程粉砂土岸坡防护工程为例,开展了三维加筋生态护坡结构的现场原位测试与加筋土体力学特性室内试验研究,揭示了该护坡技术固土护坡力学效应。试验结果表明:对比纯植被护坡和遮阳网表层覆盖护坡方式,三维加筋生态护坡结构对土体加筋作用最为有效。土工网可以帮助植被根系在岸坡表层形成良好的加筋层,而植被根系则帮助土工网与岸坡土体更紧密地结合。加筋生态结构效果主要表现为增加了土体黏聚力,但对内摩擦角影响不大;一个生长周期内草本型植被根系加筋区域集中在地面以下20cm左右的深度;土体含水率和含根量对根土复合体抗剪强度有明显影响,随着土体中含根量和含水率的增加,根土复合体抗剪强度呈先增加后减少的趋势,即对于高羊茅这类抗剪型根系,其加固土体时存在最佳含根量和含水率使其强度最高。     

Unsaturated soil-geotextile interface behavior

The behavior of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) structures under seasonal climatic variations, i.e. wetting and drying, is not well understood. Stability and serviceability of MSE walls and embankments can significantly depend on the soil-reinforcement (e.g., geosynthetics) interface shearing behavior in unsaturated conditions. This is especially true for reinforced soil slopes and embankments that have significant fines contents. This paper presents results of a laboratory study on the mechanical behavior of unsaturated soil-geotextile interfaces using a specially modified direct shear apparatus. Several suction-controlled laboratory tests were conducted to investigate the effect of soil suction on the soil-geotextile interface. Results of the study indicate that the peak shear strength of the soil-geotextile interface increases nonlinearly with the soil suction. On the other hand, while inconclusive, the effect of suction on the post-peak shear strength of the interface was negligible in some cases. An elastoplastic constitutive model was used to simulate the laboratory results. This study demonstrates that the constitutive model is capable of capturing the mechanical behavior of the unsaturated soil-geotextile interface subjected to constant suction. Both shearing and volume change responses were reasonably simulated by the model.     

土工格栅纵横肋的筋土承载特性分析

为研究土工格栅纵横肋与砂土的界面受力特性,进行了不同法向压力的格栅拉拔试验,分别设计了横向与纵向剪除横肋的6种拉拔试验工况,研究横肋减少对格栅受力、拉拔阻力峰值和位移及似摩擦系数的影响,并分别对比了整体剪切和刺入剪切破坏模式下的格栅拉拔阻力,揭示格栅筋土界面的相互作用机理。结果表明,随着横肋的减少,格栅拉拔阻力和似摩擦系数不断地变小;横肋沿横向减少的格栅最大拉拔阻力大于横肋沿纵向减少的最大拉拔阻力,完整横肋有助于筋土界面的加筋作用的充分发挥。理论计算格栅界面摩擦力约为18%~19%的试验拉拔阻力,而试验获得的格栅界面摩擦力与试验拉拔阻力的比值为29%~33%,横肋与土体挤压咬合产生的承载力分量占了总拉拔阻力的67%~71%,横肋极大提高了土工格栅的拉拔阻力。