Effect of Reinforcement Form on the Pullout Resistance of Reinforced Sand

The interaction between soil and geosynthetics is a significant factor for analysis and design of reinforced earth structures which is simplified as pullout resistance. This paper presents the results of pullout tests aimed at studying the interaction of reinforced sand. The relative performance of different forms of geosynthetic reinforcement (i.e. planar reinforcement and three-dimensional grid-rib reinforcements) is compared. Samples of sand reinforced with geosynthetics in four different forms are tested in a pullout test and results are analyzed to evaluate the soil-grid interaction improvement in sand due to reinforcement in different forms. Based on experimental results, a strength model of the soil reinforced with grid-rib elements was developed. The comparison between theoretical and experimental results was favorable, thus confirming the suitability of the proposed approach.