Water-Retention Behavior of Geosynthetic Clay Liners
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 137, Issue 11
Abstract
The hydration and subsequent hydraulic performance of geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) depend on the water-retention curve (WRC) of the GCL. Because of the inherent difficulty in obtaining the WRC for these materials, limited data exists regarding the WRCs of GCLs in the literature. In this study, high-capacity tensiometers and capacitance relative humidity sensors were used to quantify the water-retention behavior of GCLs for four different GCL products that vary both in materials (woven and nonwoven geotextiles) and in fabrication detail (thermal treatment and needle-punching). The water-retention behavior was investigated under wetting and drying paths; we present results in terms of gravimetric and volumetric moisture content and bulk GCL void ratio. The WRCs of the different GCL products showed significant variation among wetting and drying curves, indicating that both needle-punching and thermal treatment have a significant effect on the swelling behavior of the GCL and its WRC. Theoretical equations were fit to the experimental data, establishing the parameters that can be used for numerical modeling of these four GCL products.
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Acknowledgments
This study was financially supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of CanadaNSERC (NSERC), the Ontario Centres of Excellence, and Terrafix Geosynthetics Inc. The authors are grateful to their industrial partners, Terrafix Geosynthetics Inc., Solmax International, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, AECOM, AMEC Earth & Environmental Inc., Golder Associates Ltd., and CTT Group. The funding for the equipment used, which was provided by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Innovation Trust, and NSERCNSERC, is also gratefully acknowledged.
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© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Jul 16, 2009
Accepted: Feb 24, 2011
Published online: Mar 2, 2011
Published in print: Nov 1, 2011
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