Hydraulic Performance of GCL Seams without Field-Applied Supplemental Bentonite below a Geomembrane Wrinkle
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 9
Abstract
The hydraulic performance of geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) overlapped seams relying on hydration of panel bentonite through a melted groove in one of its geotextiles to seal the overlap is reported for the situation where the seam is below a wrinkle in an overlying geomembrane. The amount of hydrated bentonite extruded through the groove at the seam depended on whether or not the groove melt was continuous. Flow along a seam having complete groove melt with well-hydrated bentonite was 2–3 times higher than that through a single panel of GCL below a wrinkle, but two orders of magnitude lower than that through a seam with incomplete groove melt. The effect of heat tacking on the hydraulic performance of an overlapped seam is examined. The method of heat tacking, the width of the heat-tacked zone, and its positioning at the seam were found to impact seam flow.
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Acknowledgments
This work was funded by CETCO (Minerals Technologies, Inc.).
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 9 • September 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 14, 2016
Accepted: Mar 27, 2017
Published online: Jun 30, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Nov 30, 2017
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