Interface friction: An owner's perspective

The introduction of geosynthetics to landfill applications has generally resulted in significant environmental protection improvements. Most significant applications have been the use of geomembranes in landfill liners and final covers. Other geosynthetics that are commonly utilized, often in conjunction with and adjacent to geomembranes, include geotextiles and geonets. However, when geosynthetics are used, especially when they are placed adjacent to each other in a liner or final cover configuration, the frictional characteristics of the resulting interfaces can become a very important factor affecting the design, construction and operation of a landfill. The impact of the frictional characteristics of such interfaces and the related potential stability issues on the design, construction and operation of landfills, from a landfill owner's perspective, is the subject of this paper.