Modeling of soil–woven geotextile interface behavior from direct shear test results

Apart from other factors, the performance of geosynthetic reinforced soil structures depends also on the characteristics and behavior of the interface between soil and geosynthetic. Experiments were conducted in a direct shear test apparatus to study the shear force–displacement behavior at the soil–geotextile interface using two differently textured woven geotextiles. Analyzing the data so obtained a non-linear constitutive model has been presented for predicting both the pre-peak and the post-peak interface behavior. The predictions made by the developed model are found to be in good agreement with experimental data obtained from direct shear tests.     

An experimental evaluation of the behavior of footings on geosynthetic-reinforced sand

This research was performed to investigate the behavior of geosynthetic-reinforced sandy soil foundations and to study the effect of different parameters contributing to their performance using laboratory model tests. The parameters investigated in this study included top layer spacing, number of reinforcement layers, vertical spacing between layers, tensile modulus and type of geosynthetic reinforcement, embedment depth, and shape of footing. The effect of geosynthetic reinforcement on the vertical stress distribution in the sand and the strain distribution along the reinforcement were also investigated. The test results demonstrated the potential benefit of using geosynthetic-reinforced sand foundations. The test results also showed that the reinforcement configuration/layout has a very significant effect on the behavior of reinforced sand foundation. With two or more layers of reinforcement, the settlement can be reduced by 20% at all footing pressure levels. Sand reinforced by the composite of geogrid and geotextile performed better than those reinforced by geogrid or geotextile alone. The inclusion of reinforcement can redistribute the applied footing load to a more uniform pattern, hence reducing the stress concentration, which will result reduced settlement. Finally, the results of model tests were compared with the analytical solution developed by the authors in previous studies; and the analytical solution gave a good predication of the experimental results of footing on geosynthetic reinforced sand.     

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.     

Effects of Geosynthetic Reinforcement Type on the Strength and Stiffness of Reinforced Sand in Plane Strain Compression

The effects of geosynthetic reinforcement type on the strength and stiffness of reinforced sand were evaluated by performing a series of drained plane strain compression tests on large sand specimens. The reinforcement type is described in terms of the degree of unification of the constituting components (for geocomposites) as well as the tensile strength and stiffness, the covering ratio and others (for geocomposites and geogrids). Sand specimens reinforced with different geosynthetic reinforcement types exhibited significantly different reinforcing effects. A geocomposite made of a woven geotextile sheet sandwiched firmly with two sheets of non-woven geotextile, having a 100% effective covering ratio, exhibited reinforcing effects higher than typical stiff and strong geogrids. With some geocomposite types, the reinforcing effects increase substantially by better unifying longitudinally arranged stiff and strong yarns and non-woven geotextile sheets. When fixed firm to the yarns, the non-woven geotextile sheets function like the transversal members of a geogrid by locally transmitting load activated by interaction with the backfill to the yarns. These geocomposites can exhibit reinforcing effects equivalent to those with stiff and strong geogrids. Local strain fields of the specimens are presented to show that, for reinforced sand, the peak stress state reached is always associated with the development of shear band(s) in the sand and a higher peak strength is achieved when the strain localisation starts at a larger global axial strain due to better reinforcing effects.     

Failure mechanisms of geosynthetic clay liner and textured geomembrane composite systems

The objective of this study was to evaluate shear behavior and failure mechanisms of composite systems comprised of a geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) and textured geomembrane (GMX). Internal and interface direct shear tests were performed at normal stresses ranging from 100 kPa to 2000 kPa on eight different GCL/GMX composite systems. These composite systems were selected to assess the effects of (i) GCL peel strength, (ii) geotextile type, (iii) geotextile mass per area, and (iv) GMX spike density. Three failure modes were observed for the composite systems: complete interface failure, partial interface/internal failure, and complete internal failure. Increasing normal stress transitioned the failure mode from complete interface to partial interface/internal to complete internal failure. The peak critical shear strength of GCL/GMX composite systems increased with an increase in GMX spike density. However, the effect of geotextile type and mass per area more profoundly influenced peak critical shear strength at normal stress > 500 kPa, whereby an increase in geotextile mass per area enhanced interlocking between a non-woven geotextile and GMX. Peel strength of a GCL only influenced the GCL/GMX critical shear strength when the failure mode was complete internal failure.     

非水反应高聚物与土工材料的界面剪切特性

基于单调直剪试验,研究了竖向应力、剪切速率对非水反应类高聚物-土工布界面及高聚物-砂土界面的剪切应力、剪切位移、抗剪强度和剪切模量等剪切特性的影响.结果表明:在给定竖向应力和剪切速率下,随着剪切位移的增加,高聚物-土工布界面、高聚物-砂土界面均表现出剪切软化的特性;竖向应力对高聚物-土工布界面抗剪强度及剪切模量的影响显...     

Behavior of geogrid–reinforced sand and effect of reinforcement anchorage in large-scale plane strain compression

This paper presents experimental investigations on the behavior of geogrid–reinforced sand featuring reinforcement anchorage which simulates the reinforcement connected to the wall facings in numerous in-situ situations. A series of large plane strain compression tests (the specimen 56 cm high × 56 cm wide × 45 cm long) was conducted. Standard Ottawa sand and 4 types of PET geogrids exhibiting 5% stiffness in the range of 750–1700 kN/m were used in this study. The specimens were tested by varying the relative density of sand, confining pressures, geogrid types, and reinforcement-anchorage conditions. Experimental results indicate that relative to unreinforced specimens, both anchored and non-anchored geogrid reinforcements can enhance the peak shear strength and suppress the volumetric dilation of reinforced soil. The studies on anchorage revealed that anchoring the reinforcement can restrain the lateral expansion of reinforced specimens, resulting in a substantial increase in shear strength and a reduction in volumetric dilation. The strength ratios of non-anchored specimens appeared to be insensitive to the reinforcement stiffness, whereas the strength ratios of the anchored specimens increased markedly with increases in soil density, reinforcement stiffness, and system deformation (i.e., axial stain). Geogrid anchorage contributed a large percentage of the total shear-strength improvement, nearly 3-times more than the contribution of the soil–geogrid interaction in non-anchored specimens. Lastly, an analytical model was developed based on the concept that additional confinement is induced by reinforcement anchorage, and the predicted shear strength of the anchored soil was verified based on the experimental data.     

Bearing capacity of square footings on geosynthetic reinforced sand

The results from laboratory model tests and numerical simulations on square footings resting on sand are presented. Bearing capacity of footings on geosynthetic reinforced sand is evaluated and the effect of various reinforcement parameters like the type and tensile strength of geosynthetic material, amount of reinforcement, layout and configuration of geosynthetic layers below the footing on the bearing capacity improvement of the footings is studied through systematic model studies. A steel tank of size 900 × 900 × 600 mm is used for conducting model tests. Four types of grids, namely strong biaxial geogrid, weak biaxial geogrid, uniaxial geogrid and a geonet, each with different tensile strength, are used in the tests. Geosynthetic reinforcement is provided in the form of planar layers, varying the depth of reinforced zone below the footing, number of geosynthetic layers within the reinforced zone and the width of geosynthetic layers in different tests. Influence of all these parameters on the bearing capacity improvement of square footing and its settlement is studied by comparing with the test on unreinforced sand. Results show that the effective depth of reinforcement is twice the width of the footing and optimum spacing of geosynthetic layers is half the width of the footing. It is observed that the layout and configuration of reinforcement play a vital role in bearing capacity improvement rather than the tensile strength of the geosynthetic material. Experimental observations are supported by the findings from numerical analyses.     

Influence of particle shape on the shear strength and dilation of sand-woven geotextile interfaces

The influence of particle shape on the mechanical behavior of sand-woven geotextile interfaces over a wide domain of soil density and normal stress is studied. A uniformly graded angular fine sand, and a blend of well rounded glass beads with identical particle size distributions, were selected as granular material. Experiments revealed the impact of particle shape on peak and residual friction angles as well as the maximum dilation angle of interfaces between both granular media and woven geotextile. It was observed that the residual friction angles of interfaces between angular sand/glass-beads and woven geotextile are very similar to the residual friction angles of angular sand and glass-beads in soil–soil direct shear test. It is understood that the peak friction angle and maximum dilation angle of angular sand-woven geotextile were slightly lower than corresponding values for angular sand in soil–soil direct shear test. While the peak friction angle and maximum dilation angle of angular sand-woven geotextile interface decrease with the increase in normal stress, experiments showed that these factors are insensitive to normal stress for glass beads-woven geotextile interfaces, at least for the range studied herein. All interfaces with woven geotextile as the contact surface exhibit an abrupt loss of shear strength in the post-peak regime of behavior. Finally, a unified stress-dilation law for the angular sand-woven geotextile, glass beads-woven geotextile, and angular sand-roughened steel interfaces is obtained.     

土工合成材料加筋砂土三轴试验研究

本文以 5种国产土工合成材料为加筋材料 ,它们分别是针刺无纺土工织物、涤纶纤维经编土工格栅、玻璃纤维土工格栅、聚丙烯双向土工格栅和聚乙烯土工网 ,用三轴试验比较各种土工合成材料对砂土的加筋效果 ,得到一些有益的结论 ,可指导土工合成材料的优选和研究加筋机理 ,同时指出部分国产土工合成材料产品的不足。     

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.     

Evaluating long-term benefits of geosynthetics in flexible pavements built over weak subgrades by finite element and Mechanistic-Empirical analyses

Finite element (FE) models were developed to evaluate the benefits of geosynthetic reinforcement in flexible pavements built over weak subgrades. The parametric study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different variables such as base thickness, geosynthetic type, geosynthetic stiffness, and double-geogrid layers. FE analyses were performed for 100 load cycles, and the permanent deformation (PD) was used to calibrate the empirical parameters in MEPDG equations for each layer, which were used to extrapolate PD data for the service life of pavements. The PD curves for unreinforced and similar reinforced sections were used to evaluate the Traffic Benefit Ratios (TBR) at different rut depths. The results showed that the inclusion of one geogrid/geotextile layer at the base-subgrade interface could significantly reduce pavement rutting. The use of geogrid is more effective than geotextile in reducing pavement rutting. The derived TBR values range from 1.91 to 8.9 for one geogrid layer and from 1.71 to 5.92 for one geotextile layer. The TBR values increase with increasing the rutting depth and geosynthetic stiffness. The TBR value demonstrates an optimum at a base thickness of 10 in. The results demonstrated the superior benefits of using double geogrid layers compared to single-layer cases.     

Shear strength characteristics of geosynthetic reinforced rubber-sand mixtures

Shear strength characteristics of the geosynthetic-reinforced rubber-sand mixture (RSM) has been investigated by conducting Unconsolidated Undrained (UU) triaxial test. In the first part, a series of UU triaxial tests have been carried out to know the size effect of granulated rubber/tyre chips from seven different rubber sizes. RSM sample that provides higher strength, energy absorption capacity and stiffness is considered as the optimal size and has been used in the investigation on geosynthetic-reinforced RSM. In the second part, shear strength characteristics of geosynthetic-reinforced RSM has been investigated by varying proportions of rubber content (50% and 75% rubber by volume), type of geosynthetic (geotextile, geogrid and geonets), number of geosynthetics (1–4) layers, geosynthetic arrangement and confining pressure. The results demonstrate that RSM reinforced with geosynthetic has enhanced peak strength, failure strength and corresponding axial strain at failure. Fifty percent RSM reinforced by geotextile and 75% RSM reinforced by geonets with 4 layers of reinforcement, led to a maximum increase in shear strength. The strength and energy absorption capacity are doubled for the reinforced RSM's, and reduced the brittleness index values as close to zero, which depends on the type, number of layers and arrangement of geosynthetic.     

Interaction between geogrid reinforcement and tire chip–sand lightweight backfill

This paper deals with the interaction between the geogrid and the tire chip–sand mixture including the determination of the index properties of the backfill materials, the shear strength parameters, the interaction coefficients, and the efficiency of geogrid reinforcements in tire chip–sand backfills. Numerous experiments including index tests, compaction tests, pullout tests, and large-scale direct shear tests were conducted. Saint–Gobain (geogrid A) and Polyfelt (geogrid B) were selected as reinforcing materials. Tire chip–sand mixtures with mixing ratios of 0:100, 30:70, 40:60, and 50:50 by weight were used as fill materials. The test results revealed that the dry unit weight of tire chip–sand mixtures depended more on the sand content, and less on the water content. The mixture at the mixing ratio of 30:70 by weight or 50:50 by volume was found to be the most suitable fill material compared to other mixing ratios. The pullout resistance and the pullout interaction coefficients of geogrid A were slightly higher than those of geogrid B. In contrast, in the direct shear resistance, the direct shear interaction coefficients, and the efficiency values of geogrid B were slightly higher than those of geogrid A. Since geogrid B has the needed uniaxial reinforcement properties and its sufficient interaction characteristics with tire chip–sand mixture, the geogrid B was utilized in this study. The interaction coefficients between the tire chip–sand backfill with 30:70 mixing ratio by weight were found to be 0.71 in pullout mode and 0.92 in direct shear mode for geogrid B.     

筋箍碎石桩桩–土界面摩擦特性试验研究及离散元模拟

筋箍碎石桩复合地基桩–土界面摩擦特性对其荷载传递机理极为重要。首先通过室内大型直剪试验,研究了法向应力、软土含水率、碎石料相对密实度、筋材设置等因素对筋箍碎石桩桩–土界面摩擦特性的影响。在此基础上,采用离散元方法分析了筋材设置、筋材开孔率、筋材抗拉刚度等因素对界面摩擦特性的影响。室内试验及数值分析结果表明:桩土界面抗剪强度随法向应力、碎石料相对密实度、筋材开孔率、筋材抗拉刚度的增大而增大,随软土含水率的增加而降低;界面摩擦系数则随法向应力、软土含水率的增大而减小,随碎石料相对密实度、筋材开孔率的增大而提高,筋材抗拉刚度对其影响较小。     

Strength enhancement of clay by encapsulating geogrids in thin layers of sand

Large size direct shear tests (i.e.300 × 300 × 200 mm) were conducted to investigate the possibility of strength enhancement of clays reinforced with geogrids embedded in thin layers of sand. In this paper test results for the clay, sand, clay–sand, clay–geogrid, sand–geogrid and clay–sand–geogrid samples are presented and discussed. Thin sand layers with thicknesses of 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 mm were used to quantify their effect on the interaction between the clay and the geogrids. In this regard effects of sand layer thickness, normal pressure (i.e. confinement) and transversal members of geogrids were investigated. All the tests were conducted using saturated clay with no drainage allowed. Test results indicate that provision of thin layers of sand for encapsulating the geogrids is very effective in improving the strength and deformation characteristics of saturated clay. Maximum strength enhancement was derived at an optimum sand layer thickness of 10 mm which proved to be independent of the magnitude of the normal pressure used. For a particular sand layer thickness, increasing the normal pressure resulted in enhanced strength improvement. Results also showed that removal of the geogrid transversal members resulted in reducing the strength of the reinforced samples by 10% compared to geogrids with transversal members. Encapsulating geogrids in thin layers of sand not only will improve the performance of clays if used as backfill it would also provide drainage paths preventing pore water pressure generation on saturation of the backfill.     

A numerical modelling technique for geosynthetics validated on a cavity model test

Numerical modelling approaches can aid in designing geotechnical constructions involving geosynthetics. However, the reliability of numerical results depends on how the model is developed, the constitutive model, and the set of parameters used. By comparing the numerical results with experiment, the present work verifies a numerical modelling technique developed to model multilayered geosynthetic lining systems for landfills. The numerical modelling technique involves strain softening at interfaces and allows the axial stiffness of the geosynthetics to evolve as a function of strain. This work focuses on a two-dimensional finite-difference model, which is used to simulate three types of experimental tests: conventional uniaxial tensile tests, direct shear tests, and a large-scale test that was used to assess the overall mechanical behaviour of a reinforced geosynthetic system that spanned over a cavity. This reinforced geosynthetic system consisted of a 50 kN/m polyvinyl alcohol geogrid reinforcement embedded in a layer of sand, a geosynthetic clay liner, a high-density polyethylene geomembrane, and a non-woven needle-punched geotextile. The uniaxial tensile tests, direct shear tests, and the large-scale test were numerically modelled and the numerical results were compared with experimental results. The results of the numerical modelling technique presented very closely match the results of the three experimental tests, which indicates that the numerical model correctly predicted the measured data.     

土工模袋砂界面摩擦特性试验研究

土工模袋砂界面特性指标对于各类模袋砂工程的设计至关重要。笔者开展了砂与土工模袋、土工模袋之间界面摩擦特性直剪试验;通过自制试验装置进行了模袋砂间界面摩擦试验,探讨了充填度对模袋砂间界面特性的影响;把试验结果用于典型工程实例变形和稳定性分析,并通过数值计算验证。研究结果表明:模袋与砂界面剪应力-位移关系表现出明显的非线性特征,剪应力峰值及其对应的位移随竖向压力的增大而增大,界面关系服从摩尔-库伦强度理论;砂与模袋间的摩擦角为30.3°,摩擦系数为0.58,黏聚力是3.1 kPa。土工模袋间界面关系也服从摩尔-库伦强度理论,摩擦角为21.3°,摩擦系数是0.39,黏聚力为1.29 kPa。模袋砂之间的摩擦特性指标则因充填度而异,受充填度影响显著,表现为充填度增大,摩擦角变大而粘聚力减小,抗剪强度增大,且竖向压力越大影响越明显。基于试验结果明确了洲头咀沉管隧道模袋砂围堰位移突变的原因及其稳定性,提出了设计控制指标;通过数值计算表明,基于界面摩擦试验结果分析所得结论合理。     

Effectiveness of geogrid reinforcement in improvement of mechanical behavior of sand-contaminated ballast

Vertical stiffness and shear strength of ballasts are significantly degraded when contaminated with sands. There is a lack of solutions/studies related to strengthening ballast against sand contamination. Addressing this limitation, a comprehensive laboratory investigation was made on effectiveness of geogrid reinforcement for improvement of mechanical properties of sand-contaminated ballast. To this end, large-scale direct shear tests as well as plate load tests were conducted on geogrid-reinforced ballast samples prepared with different levels of sand contamination. The obtained results indicate that geogrid reinforcement considerably improves shear strength and vertical stiffness of contaminated ballast. A bandwidth was obtained for contamination levels in which ballast reinforcement is effective. Through examining geogrid with different aperture sizes and locations in the ballast layer, the best performance conditions of geogrid reinforcement were derived. The results were used to propose an effective method of ballast reinforcement and an efficient ballast maintenance approach in sandy areas.     

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.