Effects of Cyclic Loading on Internal Shear Strength of Unreinforced Geosynthetic Clay Liner

Stress-controlled static and cyclic shear tests were performed by using a direct simple shear device on samples of a geomembrane-supported geosynthetic clay liner (GCL). The dry material showed no degradation in shear strength during cyclic loading as long as the peak shear stress was less than the static shear strength of the GCL with no cyclic loading. Furthermore, cyclic loading slightly densified the dry bentonite and thus increased its shear resistance under subsequent static loading. On the other hand, the shear strength of the hydrated GCL was found to be reduced by cyclic loading. The number of cycles to cause failure decreased with increasing cyclic stress ratio (cyclic shear stress divided by undrained static shear strength); at a cyclic stress ratio of 0.67, failure occurred at 32 cycles of loading, but at a cyclic stress ratio of 0.53, failure did not occur until up to 200 cycles of loading.