Influence of Selection of Soil and Interface Properties on Numerical Results of Two Soil–Geosynthetic Interaction Problems
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 17, Issue 6
Abstract
Numerical modelers are often faced with the challenge to numerically reproduce the physical behavior of soil–geosynthetic interaction problems using assumed values for missing soil and interface model parameters. This paper examines two such examples using the finite-difference method, (1) horizontal pullout of a geosynthetic (geogrid) reinforcement layer in a pullout box and (2) a geosynthetic (geotextile)-reinforced soil layer over a void. It also presents the results of parametric sensitivity analyses for the missing soil and interface model parameter values and identifies the values that give the best agreement with measured data. The paper further demonstrates that correct modeling of geometrical nonlinearity is key to accurately predicting the performance of geosynthetic-reinforced soil systems controlled by the tensioned membrane effect. The lessons learned in this study will be of interest to numerical modelers during numerical model design of geosynthetic-reinforced soil systems.
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Acknowledgments
The work reported in this paper was supported by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: May 6, 2016
Accepted: Sep 21, 2016
Published online: Nov 8, 2016
Discussion open until: Apr 8, 2017
Published in print: Jun 1, 2017
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