Model Tests Investigating Spatial Tensile Behavior of Simulated Geosynthetic Reinforcement Material over Rigid Supports
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 30, Issue 2
Abstract
A special device was designed, manufactured, and used to create a three-dimensional (3D) layout of rigid supports to investigate the spatial tensile behavior of the geosynthetic reinforcement material over rigid supports. A polyester (PET) sheet was used to simulate the geosynthetic reinforcement material. The results from the model tests using this device were used to evaluate the spatial distribution of tension and the deformed shape of the simulated geosynthetic reinforcement material. A couple of analytical solutions currently available in the literature were selected for the comparison of the calculated tension and deflections with the measured data. This study found that the maximum tensile force in the simulated geosynthetic reinforcement material occurred at the corners of rigid supports, followed by that at the edges of rigid supports. The tensile forces along the simulated geosynthetic reinforcement material were nearly uniform in the central area and increased toward the rigid supports. The test results showed that the three-dimensional deformation pattern of the simulated geosynthetic reinforcement material should not be ignored. A second-order power law formula predicted the deformed shape of the simulated geosynthetic reinforcement material satisfactorily for practical applications. The strain compatibility methods gave good prediction of the maximum tensile force and vertical deflection of the simulated geosynthetic reinforcement material between two adjacent piles. Further research is needed to improve analytical methods by considering the 3D nature of deformation and the spatial distribution of tension in the reinforcement.
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Acknowledgments
This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC Project No. 41272293) and the Yunnan Department of Transportation of China [Grant No. 2015(A) 12]. This paper was completed while the first author visited the University of Kansas as a visiting scholar, which was supported by the China Scholarship Council (No. 201506260117). The authors would like to appreciate all this support.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 30 • Issue 2 • February 2018
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 8, 2017
Accepted: Aug 2, 2017
Published online: Dec 9, 2017
Published in print: Feb 1, 2018
Discussion open until: May 9, 2018
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