Evaluating the Performance of Geotextile Wrapped/Layered Soil: A Comparative Study Using the DEM

This paper numerically investigates the performance of geosynthetic-wrapped and -layered soil commonly used for constructing retaining structures by the discrete element method. First, the geotextile and the soil that make up the reinforced soil are calibrated with tensile, shear box, and triaxial test results. The discretization of two reinforced soils are then introduced, which considers geotextile as an assembly of particles linked with stretching springs. Second, the discrete models of two reinforced soils in periodic boundary condition are examined in triaxial compression in order to evaluate the effect of reinforcement form on soil behaviors. Three geotextiles that vary in tensile stiffness are considered. The simulations show that the wrapped soil is able to sustain greater stress than the layered one. Though similar global volumetric change is found in both cases, the soil wrapped in a container dilates less than that sandwiched between a pair of sheets. In the reinforced domain, stress paths and strain localization are analyzed, from which the reinforce mechanisms are better understood.