QIP-Short Term Course

QIP-
Geotechnical Engineering Practices and Developments
6th 10th January, 2014, IIT Guwahati

Arindam Dey
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Geotechnical Engineering Division
IIT Guwahati
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Etymology

Reinforce

Latin origin
 Rinforzare to reinforce, to strengthen (verb)
 Forza  strength

Mainly of military use
 Soldier to the Command: Sir, we are falling apart, send us reinforcements
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Reinforced Soil Structures

Reinforced retaining walls

Reinforced embankments
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Reinforced Soil Structures

Reinforced foundation beds

Reinforced pavement and

railway subgrades
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Reinforced Soil Structures

Fiber reinforcement

Rock bolting
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Reinforced Soil Structures

Various forms of reinforced soil structures

Soil nailing Earth anchors

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Reinforced Soil

Reinforced Soil Soil

Composite material Reinforced Soil
Tension
 Soil Resistant

Cohesionless soils Elements
 Mostly with frictional characteristics having good compression behavior
 Poor/No tension behavior

Cohesive soils
 Exhibit some tension resistance due to the cohesive bond (e.g. vertical cuts up to some
height can stand without any support)
 Large height of vertical or near-vertical cuts requires to be reinforced
 Tension resistant elements

Form - Sheet, strips, nets, or mats

Composition - Metal, synthetic fibres, or fibre-reinforced plastics

Main purpose
 Reduction or suppression of tensile strain developed due to gravity or boundary forces
 Orientation Direction of tensile strains
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Soil Reinforcement: Historical Use

Beaver Dams

Mud reinforced with grasses, tree trunks, and stones
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Soil Reinforcement: Historical Use

Ziggurats of Mesopotamia

Constructed of clay bricks

Reinforcement
 Mats of woven reeds
 Plaited ropes
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Soil Reinforcement: Historical Use

Great wall of China

Sections in eastern China
 Bricks and chiseled stones

Sections in western China
 Clay or pounded earth reinforced with tree branches
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Soil Reinforcement: Historical Use

Inca, Maya and Aztec structures

Adobe bricks
 Blocks of mud embedded with straw having good tensile strength
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Soil Reinforcement: Modern Day Construction

Swami Narain Temple, Tithal Gujarat

Stone-filled rope gabions for shoreline stabilization
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Soil Reinforcement: Modern Day Construction

Widening of narrow road stretch at Vijaywada

22m high geosynthetic reinforced retaining walls
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Soil Reinforcement: Reinvention

Henri Vidal (1963)

Coined the term Reinforced Earth (La Terre Armee)

Accidental invention while playing with children in beach building wet-
sand houses
 Patent in 1963

Concept used superfluous in reinforced retaining walls
 Steel strips and steel membrane facing

Vidal, H. (1966) La Terre Armee Annuls de Institue Technique du

Batiments et des Travaux Publics, Paris, France
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Soil Reinforcement: Novel Charactertistics

Prefabricated elements

Precast skin units or panels

Reinforcing strips, sheets or nets
 Easily handled, stored and assembled

Flexible nature of reinforced earth mass

Withstand large differential settlement without distress

Permits construction of geotechnical structures on poor and

difficult subsoil conditions

Economical

25-50% saving in cost (Schlosser and Long, 1974; Jones, 1985)
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Portrayal of Basic Mechanism

Primarily developed for cohesionless soils

Carries tensile stress

Suppression of anisotropic lateral suppression or strain

Cohesion

Bond between adjacent particles
 Electro-static forces
 Cementation

Prohibits free movement
 Results in increased shear strength

Concept of pseudo-cohesion (Vidal, 1978)

Particles are tied to each other
 The tie provides a pseudo-bond between the particles
 Result in enhanced shear strength
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Portrayal of Basic Mechanism

Rankines stress state theory

Anisotropic stress
 Prevention of failure of the soil element

Increase 3

Decrease lateral deformation
 Place a reinforcement in the direction of 3

Interaction of soil and reinforcement
 Develops friction forces along the reinforcement
 Tensile force - Integration of the frictional forces
 Inhibit free lateral expansion of soil element
 Generation of compression forces

Development of the mobilization of tensile stress
is governed by the condition of associated
slippage

A hypothetical plate boundary to prevent lateral
expansion
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Components of Reinforced Soil

Reinforced
Soil

Soil or Fill Facing

Reinforcement
Matrix (optional)

Local soil
Steel
Strips
Steel
Wrap

Borrowed soil
Aluminium
Grids
Aluminium
Modular

Suitability of the soil
Rubber
Sheets
Rubber
Block
for reinforced soil
Concrete
Continuous
structure
Concrete
Mats

Glass
Ropes
Glass

Fibre-wood
Fibre-wood

Thermoplastics
Thermoplastics

Bricks
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Soil or Fill Matrix

Choice of fill matrix

Type of structure

Stability conditions
 Short-term (constructional) or long-term (post-constructional) stability

Physico-chemical properties of material

Economy
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Soil or Fill Matrix

Choice of cohesionless soil in reinforced soil structure

Densely compacted soil is preferable Why?
 Higher volumetric expansion during shear  Enhanced dilatancy

Higher friction strength mobilization at soil-reinforcement interface

Soils having higher void ratio are well drained Advantage?

 Effective normal stress transfer at soil-reinforcement interface is immediate
 Negligible lag between vertical loading and shear stress transfer

Behavior is mostly elastic under working load conditions Advantage?

 Negligible post-construction movement due to internal yielding and re-
adjustment of particles

Internal yielding of soil is mostly associated with plastic behavior

Non-corrosive to reinforcing materials

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Soil or Fill Matrix

Choice cohesive soil in reinforced soil structure

Poorly drained Disadvantage?
 Excess pore-pressure during construction phase results in short-term
instability

No frictional component in the soil Disadvantage?

 Soil-reinforcement interface adhesion is independent of vertical load
 Increasing the height of the structure does not aid in added strength
mobilization

Behavior is elasto-plastic or plastic Disadvantage?

 Enhanced probability of post-construction movement and creep deformation

Corrosive towards reinforcing materials

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Soil or Fill Matrix

Local c- soil in reinforced soil structure

Compromise between a pure cohesionless and cohesive soils
 Benefits of cohesionless soils
 Economic availability of cohesive soils

Minimum specification for the fill soil (US DOT, 1978)

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Reinforcement

Strip reinforcement

Flexible linear elements
 Thickness : 3-9 mm
 Breadth : 40-120 mm

Plain, grooved or ribbed

Materials
 Metals

Galvanized steel

Aluminum-Magnesium alloy

Chrome Stainless steel
 Check for durability against corrosion
 Bamboo
 Polymers
 Glass-fibre reinforced plastics
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Reinforcement

Grid reinforcement

Flexible elements made up of transverse and longitudinal members
 Transverse member run parallel to the face or free-edge of the structure

Act as anchors and passive reinforcements

Stiffer than the longitudinal members
 Longitudinal members

High modulus of elasticity and not susceptible to creep

Materials
 Metals
 Punched Polymers  Geogrids

Uniaxial  Reinforced retaining wall

Biaxial  Foundation beds
Railways and roadway subgrade
Embankment foundations
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Reinforcement

Grid reinforcement

Manufacturing of polymer geogrids
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Reinforcement

Sheet reinforcement

Galvanized steel, textile fabric or expanded metal

Geotextiles  Textile fabrics
 Most common nowadays
 Porous

Permeability in the range of coarse gravel to fine sand
 Manufacturing

Woven  from continuous monofilament fibers

Non-woven  Staple fibers laid in random pattern and mechanically entangled
 Fibers may be bonded or interlocked
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Reinforcement

Anchor reinforcement

Flexible linear elements with distortions at the end
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Facing

Facing in reinforced soil structures

Required for vertical or near-vertical structures

Main purpose
 Retains the soil between the reinforcement in the immediate vicinity to the
edge of the structure

Does not affect the overall stability of the structure
 Affect the local stability
 Should be able to adopt to deformations without distortions and introduction
of stresses

Materials
 Galvanized steel, Stainless steel, Aluminium, Bricks, Precast concrete panels,
Precast concrete slabs, Geotextiles, Geogrids, Plastics, Glass-reinforced
plastics, Timber

Metal and precast concrete panels are mostly used
 Ease in handling and assembling
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Facing

Metal facing

Mild steel, Galvanized steel or Aluminum
 Same property as the reinforcement strips

Facing is semi-elliptical
 Continuous horizontal joint along one edge

Holes are provided for bolting of reinforcing elements

Very flexible
 Can adapt to significant deformation
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Facing

Concrete Panel Facing

Cruciform shaped
 Vertical dowel-groove system to accommodate other adjacent panels

Dowels allow for restricted lateral and rotational movement
 Renders the entire facing structure as flexible
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Facing

Concrete Panel Facing

Various architectural forms are created
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Strength Characteristics: Reinforced Earth

Behavior of reinforced earth and
determination of strength characteristics

Static Triaxial Compression test
 Soil samples are reinforced with discs or rings
or fibers of metallic or non-metallic materials

 Loaded to failure under different confining

pressures

 Furnish

Stress-strain characteristics of reinforced earth

Strength envelope for reinforced soil
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Basic Concept

Strength of reinforced soil [Schlosser 1
and Long (1978)] Sz

Two-dimensional element of cohesionless soil A B
( Angle of internal friction) E

Reinforcement layers at vertical spacing Sz b

3 3

Subjected to a confining pressure of 3 F

Vertical stress of magnitude 1 is applied D C

and increased to failure

1

Linear wedge (FE of length b) failure
assumed to take place at an angle with the
vertical
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Reinforcement Failures

Two types of failure
1

Rupture of reinforcement
 Governed by the tensile capacity of reinforcement
per unit length (RT) G E

Maximum tensile force generated at the verge of 3
rupture of reinforcement
b T
R .b cos
T = T  No. of reinforcement
Sz
in the reinforced soil mass n
F

Slippage of reinforcement
 Governed by the total friction force generated in
various layers of reinforcement at the verge of
failure Width of reinforcement (Strip reinforcements)

b cos
T = 2 1. f * .br
Friction force developed on one side Sz
of the reinforcement Coefficient of interface friction
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Reinforcement Failure: Rupture

1

Rupture failure of reinforcement

Relationship between vertical and
horizontal stress G E
3
1 = ( 3 + RT S z ) N N = tan 2 45 +
2 T
 N  Flow value of the soil mass


For an unreinforced c- soil, relation n
between the principal stresses F

1 = 3 N + 2c N
Rupture failure of reinforcement

Shear strength envelopes of
unreinforced and reinforced

Analogically c = RT N soils are same (tan )
Sz

Additional strength is
 Pseudo cohesion generated in a imparted by the reinforcement
cohesionless soil due to reinforcement as pseudo-cohesion (c)
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Reinforcement Failure: Sliding/Slippage

1

Sliding failure of reinforcement

G E
3 N
1 = = 3 N' 3
*
2br . f
1 . N T
Sz


No content of pseudo-cohesion n
F

Improvement in the internal friction
angle of reinforced soil
N' > N R >

Angle of internal friction of the

reinforced soil mass
N' = tan 2 ( 45 + R / 2 )
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Mohrs Circle Representation

Slippage Failure Rupture Failure

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Precedence of Failure

Which failure will prevail???

Slippage failure prevails
 Total friction force generated due to interface friction < Total tensile capacity
of the reinforcements
3 N '
* b cos R .b cos 1 = = N
3
2 1. f .br < T *
2br . f
Sz Sz 1 . N
Sz
2b . f *
RT . 1 r N
Sz
3 <
2br . f * . N
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Precedence of Failure
Slippage Failure

Rupture Failure
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Behavior of Reinforcement

Negligible
Overburden
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Behavior of Reinforcement
Significant
Overburden
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Behavior of Reinforcement
Excessive
Overburden
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Stress-Strain Behavior

Rupture failure

Well defined peak deviator stress

Diminished failure strain compared to
unreinforced soil

Governed by tensile strength of
reinforcement

Failure is catastrophic

Slippage failure

No well defined peak

Failure behavior is ductile similar to
unreinforced soil

Governed by soil-reinforcement interface Talwar (1981)
friction

Failure is progressive
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Strength Envelope

Rupture failure

Exhibiting cohesion intercept

Strength envelope parallel to unreinforced soil

Slippage failure

Enhancement of friction angle with no cohesion

Talwar (1981)
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Example Problem

Series of triaxial tests

Records at failure
Confining Deviator stress
pressure (
( 3) (1-3)
(kPa) (kPa)
20 950
60 1600
145 2100
250 2450
375 2950
500 3400

Determine the strength properties

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Example Problem

Unreinforced Soil 2 = 30.2

= 38
, c = 0

RUPTURE
2 = 35.6
, c2 = 320kPa
 2: Nominal Change
1 = 40.7 c  c2: Significant Change

1 = 59.3
, c1 = 78.4kPa
 1: Significant Change
d2 = 260 kPa SLIPPAGE
c  c1: Nominal Change

d1 = 40 kPa
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Soil-Reinforcement Interface Friction

Friction between reinforcement and surrounding soil

Transfers the traction forces developed within the soil to the
reinforcement

Generates the apparent cohesion in the composite mass which further
develops the proportional reinforcement tension

Tests to determine soil-reinforcement interface friction

Sliding shear test
 Use of a direct shear box
 Akin to kinetic or rolling friction condition

Pull-out test
 Use of reinforcement buried in embankment soil or reinforced soil wall
 Pull-out apparatus
 Akin to static condition
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Sliding Shear Test

Kinetic or rolling friction condition

Soil movement

Minimum at the interface
 Soil movement restrained by reinforcement

Increases with distance from the reinforcement

Soil mass is moving/sliding over the
reinforcement

Footing resting on dense sand
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Sliding Shear Test and Interface Friction

Laboratory experimentation on reinforced soil

Reinforcement pasted on wooden forming the lower half of the shear box

Upper half of box is filled with soil at desired density
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Sliding Shear Test and Interface Friction

Laboratory experimentation on reinforced soil

Coefficient and Angle of interface friction

= f n = tan

Experiment with strip reinforcement

Bamboo reinforcements (Khan, 1991)
 depends on direction of shearing

Transverse shear results in higher

Passive resistance due to particle interlocking
 Geogrids reinforcements
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Pullout Test

Functioning of the apparatus

Soil mass is held static

Embedded reinforcement is pulled out from the soil mass

Soil movement

Maximum at the interface
 Soil is moving with the reinforcement

Minimum at the farthest from the reinforcement
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Pullout Test

T
f* =

Coefficient of apparent friction 2 v LW

T  Pullout force

v  Normal pressure intensity at reinforcement strip level = z +q
 q  Additional surcharge,  Unit weight of soil, z  Depth of reinforcing
strip below soil surface

L, W  Length and Width of the reinforcing strip
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Pullout Test and Pullout Friction

Application of pullout friction, f *

Footing resting on loose sandy stratum
 Footing is punching through sandy stratum and reinforcements as well

Reinforced earth retaining walls
 Reinforcements are pulled out from stationary soil mass
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Smooth vs. Ribbed Reinforcement

Coefficient of pullout friction (f *)

Surface of reinforcement (Schlosser and Elias, 1978)
 Ribbed reinforcement produces higher apparent interface friction a

Additional force developed due to particle interlocking

At high displacements
 Apparent friction coefficient

Smooth  tan

Ribbed  tan
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RDFS / Ply soil

Randomly Distributed Fiber Reinforced Soil

One of the latest ground improvement techniques
 Fibers of desired type, quantity and configuration
 Added to soil and mixed randomly
 Laid in position after compaction

How is it different from other soil-reinforcing methods?

Strip, sheet or mat reinforcements / Soil nailing
 Reinforcements are planar
 Composite mass of anisotropic strength

Provides at least one surface of weak shear resistance

RDFS
 Reinforcements are randomly distributed
 Composite mass to achieve near isotropic strength increase

Strength content of the composite is more-or-less equal with respect to any
shearing direction
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Earlier Applications

Straws and plant roots to soil bricks

Aztec, Inca and Mayan civilizations

Without understanding the reinforcing mechanism

Soil mixed with Tamarisk branches

Great Wall of China

Clay-mud plaster

Soil mixed with wheat straws

Common in Indian villages

Plantation roots

Increase strength and stability of natural slopes
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Modern Application

Synthetic fibers

Use of polymeric fibers in various experimental investigations
 Triaxial compression test
 Unconfined compression test
 Direct shear test
 CBR test

Notable properties of RDFS

Greater extensibility

Small loss in post-peak strength

Isotropy in strength

Absence of a specific plane of weakness
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Strength of RDFS: General Findings

Bilinear shear strength envelope
(Gray and Ohashi, 1983)

Parallel to the unreinforced soil
envelope beyond a critical or
threshold normal stress
 Below the critical value, the reinforced
soil shows higher friction angle Slip
zone
 Beyond the critical value, the apparent
cohesion is experienced

Friction angle remains nearly same as
that if unreinforced soil

Apparent cohesion is manifested by n,crit
the particle interlocking or bond
between the soil and randomly
distributed reinforcements
 Shear takes place nonlinearly between
the composite mass and unreinforced
portions of soil
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Strength of RDFS: Predictive Models

Gray and Ohashi (1983)

Orientation of fibers
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Strength of RDFS: Predictive Models

Gray and Ohashi (1983)

Assumption
 Fiber induced tension originated due to extension of fiber
 Fiber length, interface friction and confining pressure are large enough to
avoid pull-out failure
4E f f z
t = ( sec 1)
df

Fiber-induced tension
 t  Tensile stress within a single fiber
 f  Interface frictional resistance along the fiber
 Ef  Modulus of elasticity of fiber
 df  Diameter of fiber
  Angle of internal friction of soil
 z  Thickness of shear zone

Waldron (1977)
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Strength of RDFS: Predictive Models

Gray and Ohashi (1983)

Mohr-Coulomb equation for unreinforced soil
S = c + n tan
 S  Shear strength of unreinforced soil

Contribution of root-fibers in modifying the shear

strength expression
S r = cr + nr tan
 Sr, cr, nr  Shear strength, cohesion and vertical stress for
unreinforced soil

has been assumed to be remaining constant
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Strength of RDFS: Predictive Models

Gray and Ohashi (1983)

Contribution of root-fibers in modifying the shear
strength expression S r = cr + nr tan

4E f f z
c + ar ( sec 1) .sin +
df

Sr =
4E f f z
ar ( sec 1) .cos . tan + n tan

df
 ar  fraction of shear cross-section filled by roots

Additional shear strength provided by the fibers

S r = t .ar ( sin + cos .tan )

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Ground Modification and Improvement Techniques

Various ground modification and improvement techniques

Mechanical stabilization
 Vibration and rolling
 Heavy tamping and compaction
 Preloading and vertical drains

Chemical stabilization
 Chemical binders and fasteners

Hydraulic Modification
 Grouting

Soil reinforcement
 Geosynthetics
 Soil nails
 Earth anchors
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Geosynthetics

A generic term

Prefix Geo
 End use associated with improving the performance of civil engineering
works involving earth/ground/soil

Suffix synthetics
 Materials are almost exclusively man-made

Natural fibers (Jute, cotton, wool, silk, hemp) are excluded
 Polymeric materials

Polyester (PET)

Polypropylene (PP)
 Very low density (VLDPE), Medium density (MDPE) and High Density (HDPE)

Chlorinated Polyethylene (CPE)

Chlorosulfonated Polyethylene (CSPE)

Polyamide (PA)

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
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Types of Geosynthetics

Geotextiles

Permeable polymeric textile products in the form
of flexible sheets

Categories
 Woven geotextiles

Made of yarns (one or several fibers) by conventional
weaving process with regular textile structure
 Non-woven geotextiles

Made from randomly oriented fibers into a loose web
with partial bonding
 Knitted geotextiles

Produced by inter-looping of one or more yarns
 Stitch-bonded geotextiles

Stitching together of fibers and yarns
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Types of Geosynthetics

Geogrids

Polymeric mesh-like planar products formed by
intersecting elements, called ribs, and jointed at
the junctions

Categories
 Depending upon the rib linkages

Bonded, Woven/Interlaced and Extruded geogrids
 Uniaxial geogrids

Made by longitudinal stretching of regularly punched
polymer sheets

Higher tensile strength in the longitudinal direction
 Biaxial geogrids

Made by both longitudinal and transverse stretchings

Equal tensile strength in both the directions
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Types of Geosynthetics

Geogrids

Key feature
 Presence of apertures  Openings between the
longitudinal and transverse ribs

Large enough to create interlocking with the
surrounding particles
 Shapes of apertures

Elongated ellipses

Near squares with rounded corners

Squares and/or rectangles
 Aperture size

2.5 15 cm
 Ribs are stiff compared to geotextile fibers

Junction strength has to be high to transmit the load
from one rib to the other
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Types of Geosynthetics

Geonets

Extruded polymer meshes with a similar look as
geotextiles
 Function is mainly for filtration and not as
reinforcement
 Diamond shaped apertures

~12 mm long and 8 mm wide

Resulting angle  70 - 110
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Types of Geosynthetics

Geomembranes

Continuous membrane type barrier/liner composed of materials of low
permeability to control fluid migration
 Material is polymeric or asphaltic or combination of the two

Barrier  When used inside an earth mass

Liner  When it acts as a surface interface element
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Composite Geosynthetics

Geocomposites

Products that are manufactures in laminated or composite form made up
of two or more basic geosynthetics
 Perform specific function which are to be satisfied more effectively than the
performance of each of them separately
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Other Geosynthetic Products

Geosynthetic clay liners

Used largely in landfill waste containment

Negligibly permeable soil sandwiched
between layers of geotextiles and filters

Geopipes

Effectively used as filter drains within dams
and embankment structures to transport the
seeping water
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Other Geosynthetic Products

Geocells

Three-dimensional polymeric assembled
structure and having special bodkin
couplings to form triangular or square cells

Geomats

A mat with very open structure made of
coarse and rigid filaments with tortuous
shape and bonded at the junctions
 Used as netting in order to hole rockfall and
topples in hills

Konkan railway slope protection
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Basic Functions of Geosynthetics

Separation

Geosynthetic prevents intermixing of adjacent soil layers with different
properties
 During construction and through the service period geosynthetic-reinforced
soil structure
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Basic Functions of Geosynthetics

Reinforcement

Geosynthetic increases the strength of the soil mass
 Maintains the stability of the soil mass against failure
 Geosynthetic layer carries tensile loads
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Basic Functions of Geosynthetics

Filtration

Geosynthetic allows for adequate flow of fluids across its plane while
preventing the migration of particles
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Basic Functions of Geosynthetics

Drainage or Fluid transmission

Geosynthetic allows for adequate flow of fluids across its plane to
various water flow outlets
 Geosynthetic provides the flow channel
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Basic Functions of Geosynthetics

Moisture barrier

Geosynthetic acts as impermeable membrane and prevent the flow or
percolation of fluids
 River canal linings made of geomembrane prevent the percolation of water
and hence reduces the water loss
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Other Functions of Geosynthetics

Protection

Geosynthetic is used as a localized stress reduction layer
 Prevent damage to a given surface or layer

Cushion

Geosynthetic is used to control and dampen dynamic mechanical
vibrations
 Canal revetments, shore protections, and us of geosynthetic strip layers as
seismic base isolators

Absorption

Assimilation of fluid into a geotextile (act as a blotting paper)
 Water absorption in erosion control
 Recovery of floating oil from surface water to prevent ecological disaster

Interlayer

Act as shear resistance enhancer between soil stratifications
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Primary Functions of Geosynthetics

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Primary Functions of Geosynthetics

Type of
Separation Reinforcement Filtration Drainage Containment
Geosynthetic
Geotextile
Geogrid
Geonet
Geomembrane
Geosynthetic

Clay Liner
Geopipe
Geofoam
Geocomposite
Geomat
Geocell
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Application of Geosynthetics

Improved subgrade or road-base performance
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Application of Geosynthetics

Improved subsurface drainage
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Application of Geosynthetics

Reinforcement of soils by geotextiles
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Application of Geosynthetics

Erosion control by geotextiles
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Application of Geosynthetics

Reservoir lining by geomembranes
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Application of Geosynthetics

Containment by geosynthetic clay liners
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Application of Geosynthetics

Railroad stabilization by geogrids
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Application of Geosynthetics

Silt fence for sediment and erosion control in construction sites
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 89

Application of Geosynthetics

Enhanced pavement performance by geotextiles
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 90

Application of Geosynthetics

Improved drainage performance by geopipes
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 91

Application of Geosynthetics

Drainage property enhancement by geonets
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 92

Application of Geosynthetics

Bridge abutment backfilling using geofoams
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 93

Application of Geosynthetics

Geomats as separator, interface and surface protection layer
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 94

Application of Geosynthetics

Geocells for earth retention, slope stabilization and soil
reinforcement
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 95

Application of Geosynthetics

Gabions for earth retention and river bank protections
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 96

Properties of Geotextiles

Main testing agencies

American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

International Standardization Organization (ISO)

Properties tested

Physical properties

Mechanical properties

Hydraulic properties

Endurance properties

Degradation properties
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 97

Physical Properties of Geotextiles

Specific Gravity (ASTM D792 and D1505)

Specific gravity of the constituent fibers of the
geotextile, or

Specific gravity of the polymeric feed stock

Definition
 Ratio of materials unit volume weight (without any
voids) to that of distilled, de-aired water at 4C

Caution
 Specific gravity of some polymers are less than 1

Care must be taken to use such polymers in
underwater conditions (e.g. river back protection)
 These polymers can float in water
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 98

Physical Properties of Geotextiles

Mass per Unit Area (ASTM D5261 and ISO 9864)

Frequently specified incorrectly as weight of geotextile

Provided in units of g/m2 or even inversely asm2/g
 Typical values: 150-750 g/m2 (common), >2000 g/m2 (specific)

Catch point
 Mass of the geotextile to be measured under zero tension

Fabric cost is directly proportional to this parameter

Thickness (ASTM D1599 and ISO 9863)

Distance between the upper and lower surface of the fabric measured at
a specified pressure
 ASTM suggests a pressure of 2 kPa
 ISO allows the specifiers to select the pressure
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 99

Physical Properties of Geotextiles

Stiffness or Flexibility (ASTM D1388
and D5732)
 NOT to be confused with the Modulus of
geotextile

Measure of interaction between the geotextile
mass and its bending stiffness
 In what manner the geotextile bends
gravitationally under its own weight

Cantilever Bending Tester
 25mm wide geotextile strip is slid out
longitudinally over a edge support as a cantilever
 Length of overhang is measured when the tip of
geotextile bends and makes and angle of 41.5
with the horizontal (l) (Sinohara and Musha,
Cantilever Bending Tester
1980) 3

l M
Stiffness = . ( mg cm ) Video
2 A
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 100

Physical Properties of Geotextiles

Stiffness or Flexibility (ASTM D1388 and D5732)

Indicative of the geotextiles inherent capability of providing a suitable
working surface for installation
 High stiffness of geotextile is required when being placed on soft soils

Haliburton et al. (1980)
 Related the property with various soil subgrade strength
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 101

Mechanical Properties of Geotextiles

Mechanical properties

Resistance of geotextile to tensile stresses
mobilized from applied loads and/or
installation conditions
 Tests performed solely on geotextiles  Index
or In-isolation tests
 Tests associated with a standard or site-specific
soil  Performance tests

Compressibility

Ratio of thickness of the geotextile at varied
applied normal stress
 Generally low for most geotextiles
 Important parameter for choosing geotextiles
which convey liquid within the plane of their
structure
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 102

Mechanical Properties of Geotextiles

Tensile Strength

Maximum tensile stress that the test specimen
can sustain at the point of its failure

Testing procedure
 Hold the geotextile in a set of vice/clamps
 Place it in the CRE (Constant rate of extension)
testing machine
 Stretch the geotextile until it fails

Grab Tensile Strength

Video (00.25)
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 103

Mechanical Properties of Geotextiles

Tensile Strength

CRE tests
 Measure load-deformation to generate the stress-strain curve

Stress measured as force/unit width
 To get conventional stress unit, the obtained value is to be divided by the thickness of
the geotextile
 Thickness of geotextile varied during the entire extension test

Strain is calculated as the deformation over the original length of specimen
 Values calculated

Maximum tensile stress, referred as strength of geotextile

Strain at failure, referred as maximum elongation or elongation of geotextile

Toughness, referred as work done per unit volume before failure
 Area under the stress-strain curve

Modulus of elasticity
 Slope of the stress-strain curve
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 104

Mechanical Properties of Geotextiles

Tensile Strength

Curve D
 Max. tensile stress (Tmax) = 23 kN/m
 Thickness at failure (tf) = 0.33 mm

max = Tmax / t f = 69.7 MPa

 Elongation at failure (f) = 69%

 Toughness (U) (approximate area under
the stress-strain curve of D)

( )
U = ( 0.5 ) (Tmax ) f = 7.9kN / m

For failure thickness of 0.33mm

( 0.5 ) (Tmax ) ( f )
U= = 24 MPa
tf
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 105

Mechanical Properties of Geotextiles

Tensile Strength

Modulus of elasticity
 Initial tangent modulus  To be used where the stress-
strain curve shows a reasonably linear variation in the
initial portion of the curve (Curves A, B, C, D)
T 12
ET = = = 364 MPa ( Curve D )
f t f 0.1 0.33 /1000
 Offset tangent modulus  To be used when initial slope
is very low

Shift the y-axis to the right at the point where the back-
projection of the major linear part of the stress-strain
curve meets the x-axis
20
EOT = = 122 MPa ( Curve E )
( 0.46 0.2 ) 0.63 /1000

Secant modulus  Modulus corresponding to a
particular strain 10.5
ES10 = = 318 MPa ( Curve D ) ES 20 , ES 35
0.1 0.33 /1000
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 106

Mechanical Properties of Geotextiles

Tensile Strength

Test Specimen size (ASTM D1682, D751, D4632,
D4595, ISO 10319)
 Grab tensile test (ASTM D4632)

Most commonly used

100 mm wide sample clamped at central by 25 mm vices
 Narrow Strip Test (ASTM D751)

For R&D  Use minimum amount of geotextile

25-50 mm wide sample
 Wide-width (200mm) and Very wide-width (1000 mm)
samples

Especially for non-woven geotextiles
 Narrow strips have severe Poisson ratio effect under large
stresses
 Get roped up to result in artificially large magnitudes
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 107

Mechanical Properties of Geotextiles

Tensile Strength

Grip types
 Depends upon the tensile strength of the geotextile being
tested

Standard clamping  For tensile strength <50 kN/m
 With higher tensile strength, slippage occurs in the conventional
grip and stress concentration at the face of the grip leading to
erroneous results

Special clamping  For tensile strength > 50 kN/m and
< 90 kN/m

Wedge Grips  For high tensile strengths < 180 kN/m
 At higher tensile strengths, failure occurs at the wedges of the
upper or lower vices

Roller/Capstan grips  Tensile strength > 180 kN/m
 Elongation cannot be read directly from the movement of the
vice
 Have to LVDT, laser sensor or infrared sensor
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 108

Mechanical Properties of Geotextiles

Confined Tensile Strength (McGown
et al., 1982, 1986)

Tensile strength of the geotextile with
lateral confinement
 As it will be eventually used in the actual
condition

Geotextile test specimen is sandwiched
between lubricated membranes and thin
soil layers pressurized by rubber bellows
 Confinement pressure in the bellows
simulates in-situ pressure
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 109

Mechanical Properties of Geotextiles

Seam Strength (ASTM D4884, ISO 13426)

Strength of joints in the geotextile sheets or rolls
for the purpose of transferring the tensile stress
 Common methods of seaming

Sewing

Application of spray adhesives

Requirements of the seam strength test specimen
 The seam specimen should be 200mm wide
 Ultimate load is carried by 200 wide seam (in kN/m)
 Rate of extension of seam < 10%/min
 Elongation of seam is not measured

Only tensile strength is measured
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 110

Mechanical Properties of Geotextiles

Seam Strength (ASTM D4884, ISO
13426)

Sewn seam strength efficiency
Tseam
E (%) = 100
Tgeotextile
 Tseam  Wide-width seam strength
 Tgeotextile  Wide width geotextile strength
(unseamed)

For higher tensile strength geotextiles, the
efficiency of the sewn seam strength
significantly decreases
 Poorly sewn seams are very incapable of
transferring the stresses

Requires different other types of seaming
techniques such as heat-bonding or epoxy-
resin bonding
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 111

Mechanical Properties of Geotextiles

Fatigue Strength

Ability of geotextile to withstand repetitive loading before undergoing
failure
 Wide-width strip geotextiles are stressed longitudinally at a constant rate of
extension to a predetermined load and then again back to zero load (or any
lower load)

Cycling of load is repeated until failure occurs
 Resulting cyclic stress-strain generates hysteresis loops

Helps to calculate the cyclic shear modulus after a subsequent number of load
cycles
 Number of load cycles required for the failure of geotextile is also recorded

The failure load is converted to stress and is expressed as a fraction of the
static strength of the geotextile

Lower the stress level, larger number of load cycles will be required for failure of
the geotextile

Simulates the seismic or railroad loadings, waves or tidal loadings
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 112

Mechanical Properties of Geotextiles

Fatigue Strength
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 113

Reinforced Soil Walls

Application

Mostly as retaining structures

Advantages over conventional type of walls
 More economical if wall heights are large and subsoil is poor
 Can be rapidly constructed
 Require simple equipment for construction
 Flexible structures

Soil forms bulk of their volume

Greater ability to withstand differential settlement than the rigid retaining walls
 Large base-to-height ratio

Foundation stress distribution s nearly uniform

Less stress concentration at the toe
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 114

Stability Analysis

External stability

Assumption
 Reinforced soil wall behaves as an integral unit
 Behaves as a rigid gravity structure

Conforms to simple laws of statics

Internal stability

Deals with design of reinforcement in regard to its
 Length and Cross-section

Against tension failure
 Sufficient anchorage length into the stable soil
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 115

External Stability
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 116

Reinforced Soil Wall Schematic

L  Length of the L
reinforcement or
width of the wall

Wall is located in the

seismic region

Surcharge on both
wall and the backfill

b2 b1
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 117

Dynamic Increments due to Backfill Soil

Computed as per IS 1893 (1984)

Distribution of the ratio of [(lateral dynamic
increment due to backfill soil only) / (vertical
effective pressure)] with the height of the wall

Additional dynamic thrust or Additional

increment in thrust in dynamic condition due
to backfill soil
1 ( H Hw )
2

2 ( K ad K a ) . . ( H + 2H w )
Pa i = 2 H
2

+ 1 K ' K ' H w 3 H H + . H
2 ( ad a)
H
2 ( w) b2 w

 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 118

Dynamic Increments due to Surcharge on Backfill

Computed as per IS 1893 (1984)

Distribution of the ratio of [(lateral dynamic
increment due to surcharge only) / (vertical
effective pressure)] with the height of the wall

Additional dynamic thrust or Additional

increment in thrust in dynamic condition due
to surcharge on backfill soil
H 2 H w2 H w2
Paqi = q ( K ad K a ) + ( K ad K a )
' '

H H
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 119

Sliding Stability

Factor of safety against sliding
Resisting force
Fs =
Sliding force

Static case

(Ww' + Q )
Fs = 2
PTst

Seismic case

(Ww' + Q ) (Ww + Q ) . v
Fs = 1.5
PTst + Pa i + Paqi + (Ww + Q ) h

  Coefficient of sliding friction of the base of the wall

1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 120

Overturning Stability

Factor of safety against overturning
Resisting moment
Fo =
Sliding moment

Static case

M w' + M q
Fo = 2
M Tst

Seismic case

M w' + M q M swv M sqv

Fo = 1.5
M Tst + M a i + M aqi + M swh + M sqh
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 121

Tilting/Bearing Stability

Static analysis
max =
(W '
w + Q)
+ M Tst .
6
qa
2
L L

min =
(Ww' + Q ) M Tst .
6
> 0 (No tension condition)
2
L L

Seismic analysis

Net moment about the centre of base of wall
M Tn = M Tst + M a i + M aqi + M swh + M sqh

(Ww' + Q ) (Ww + Q ) v
max = + M . 6 1.25q
Tn a
L L2
(Ww' + Q ) (Ww + Q ) v
min = M . 6 > 0 (No tension condition)
Tn
L L2
 qa  Allowable bearing capacity of foundation soil
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 122

Slip Stability

Slope stability analysis using software

GeoStudio/Plaxis
 Static FoS > 1.5
 Seismic FoS > 1.2
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 123

Tension Failure

Tensile force (Ti) per m width at a depth hi
Ti = K aw vi 2c1 K aw .S z

vi  Maximum vertical pressure intensity

Kaw  Coefficient of active earth pressure
obtained using wall properties i.e. 1
 Use corresponding expressions Kaw, K'aw, Kadw, and
Kadw similar to Ka, K'a, Kad, K'ad by replacing 2
with 1

Sz  Vertical spacing of the reinforcement

Limiting condition of design against

tension failure Ti RT

RT  Safe design strength of reinforcement per
unit width
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 124

Design Steps for Stability

During checking of external stability

Choose a length of the reinforcement (width of the wall) and carry out
the design
 Length of the reinforcement can be uniform or varying along the height of the
wall
 Check that all the external stability conditions are satisfied

During checking of internal stability

Estimate the vertical spacing of the reinforcement
 Spacing can be uniform or varying along the height of the wall
 Check that the tensile failure condition is satisfied for all the reinforcement
above and below the water table

Estimation of spacing gives the number of reinforcements to be used in a
cross-section of the wall
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 125

Wedge/Pullout Failure: Static Case

Consider the possibility of inclined
failure surfaces passing through the
wall forming unstable wedges of soil
bounded by

Front face of the wall

Top ground surface

Potential failure plane

Most common critical condition

Failure plane passing through the toe of
the wall
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 126

Vertical and Horizontal Line Loads

Any external applied load should have to accommodated for
the stresses generated a various reinforcement levels due to
load distribution
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 127

Reinforced Soil Beds

Applications

Frame footing resting on reinforced earth slab

Closely spaced footing on weak soil

Isolated footing resting on reinforced earth slab

Storage water tanks resting on reinforced earth slab

Advantages

Increase in bearing capacity

Reduction in differential (tilt) and net foundation settlements

Reducing necessity of deep foundation

Change the type of foundation
 Can allow the use of isolated spread footing
beneath closely spaced footing on weak soil
instead of expensive combined or raft footing
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 128

Reinforced Soil Beds

Common findings from several experimental investigations

Ultimate bearing capacity of the footing can be increased by 3-4 times

Settlement/tilt of the footing can be brought down by 30% compared to
the same footing on unreinforced soil

Theoretical analysis (Binquet and Lee, 1975)

Pressure intensity of isolated strip footings resting on reinforced earth
slab for a given settlement

Proposed a mechanistic working hypothesis
 Assumptions of significant movement and load transfer
 Determination of the maximum tie force (TD)
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 129

Binquet and Lee (1975) Hypothesis

Brief description

Zone I comprising of the footing and zone
of soil mass bounded by the maximum
shear stress planes (xz,max) are assumed
to move down
 Results in the outward movement of zone
II

Reinforcements are assumed to undergo a

double right-angled bend at the failure
surface
 The tie-force is directed upwards at the
failure surface
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 130

Binquet and Lee (1975) Hypothesis

Brief description

Equilibrium of the soil element
encompassing a reinforcement strip in the
soil zone I is determined
 Estimation of the tie force

Tie force is subsequently checked against

the tensile strength (bearing capacity in
rupture) and the frictional resistance
(bearing capacity in pullout) of the strip
embedded in Soil Zone II

Repeated for all the strips and then the

minimum value of bearing capacity and
failure mode is determined
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 131

Bearing Capacity Ratio

Aim of the analysis

Obtain the pressure that can be imposed on the footing resting on
reinforced earth slab corresponding to a given settlement of the same
footing resting on an unreinforced soil

q
pr or BCR =
q0

 q0  average contact pressure of footing on unreinforced soil at settlement

 q  average contact pressure of footing on reinforced soil at same

Pre-requisite of the analysis

 Pressure settlement characteristics of the actual footing resting on
unreinforced sand bed

Plate load test

Software simulation
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 132

Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Reinforced Soil Beds

Wide Slab Effect

For the same footing, and for the same
settlement for unreinforced and reinforced
soil beds, critical pressure ratio is used to
estimate the bearing pressure on reinforced
foundations
 Implication: The pressure-settlement values
of reinforced soil can be computed only up to
the bearing capacity of unreinforced soil
 Experimental investigations show that under
such condition, the bearing capacity of
reinforced foundation is never achieved

qu  Bearing capacity of unreinforced soil

qr  Bearing pressure of reinforced soil
corresponding to the same settlement at the
bearing capacity of unreinforced soil

qur  Bearing capacity of reinforced soil
 1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 133

Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Reinforced Soil Beds

Deep Footing Effect

Footing sized reinforcement layers beneath
the footing up to a depth DR increases the
bearing capacity effect
 Similar to an unreinforced sand bed loaded
with a rigid deep footing having an
embedment depth of Df = DR

D f = DR 1.0 B

Ultimate bearing capacity considering the

deep footing effect

qur = qr + DR N q = qu . pr + DR N q

 DR  Depth of lowest layer of reinforcement

withing 1.0B (B  Width of the footing)
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 134

Soil Nailing

Soil Nailing Video Solotrat

1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 135

Coverage

Concepts and Mechanism of reinforced earth

Sawicki
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 136

Coverage

Geosynthetics

Composition, manufacture, functions, testing and applications in
reinforced earth

Shukla, Yin
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 137

Coverage

Reinforced retaining walls

Clayton, Militsky, Woods

1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 138

Coverage

Reinforced embankments

Jones
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 139

Coverage

Reinforced foundation beds

Sivakumar Babu
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 140

Coverage

Reinforced pavement and railway subgrades

Jewell
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 141

Coverage

Design for separation, filtration, drainage of reinforced soil
structures

Koerner
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 142

Coverage

Case histories and applications

Ling, Leschinstky, Tatsuoka

1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 143

Coverage

Fiber reinforced soil

Swami Saran
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 144

Coverage

Rock Bolting

Stillborg
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 145

Coverage

Soil nailing

Lazarte, Lazarte
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 146

Coverage

Earth anchors

Das, Shukla
1/16/2014 QIP STC GEPD 2014 147

Thank You for Patient Hearing