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Geosynthetics - A Civil
Engineering Construction Engineering Construction
Material
Braja M Das Braja M. Das
Mechanically Stabilized Earth MSE
Composite material with compacted fill strengthened by
inclusion of tensile elements:
Metal rods / strips Metal rods / strips
Geosynthetics
Geotextiles
Geogrids
French engineer Vidal (1966) initiated present
concept for systematic analysis and design p y y g
Since 1966, MSE structures retaining walls and
embankments over soft soil and steep slopes
built all over the world.
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Retaining Walls with Metallic Strip
Reinforcement
Reinforced-earth walls are
flexible walls. e b e a s
Main components:
Backfill granular soil
Reinforcing strips
thin, wide strips placed
at regular intervals g
A skin or cover on the
front of the wall
GEOSYNTHETICS
According to ASTM D4439, a geosynthetic is defined as
a planar product manufactured from polymeric material
used with soil, rock, or other geotechnical engineering
l t d t i l i t l t f h d related material as an integral part of a human-made
project, structure, or system.
Polymers used:
Polypropylene (92%)
Polyethylene (2%)
Polyamide (nylon) (1%)
Polyester (5%)
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Identification of the Usual Primary
Function for Each Type of Geosynthetic
Geotextiles
Woven geotextiles made of two sets of parallel Woven geotextiles made of two sets of parallel
filaments or strands of yarn systematically interlaced to
form planar structure
Knitted geotextiles formed by interlocking a series
of loops to one or more filaments of strands of yarn to
form planar structures form planar structures
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Nonwoven geotextiles formed from fibers or
filaments arranged in oriented or random pattern in
planar structure
Filaments (or short fibers) arranged in a loose web in
th b i i th b d d b bi ti f the beginning, then bonded by one or combination of:
Chemical bonding by glue, rubber, latex, a
cellulose derivative, or the like
Thermal bonding by heat for partial melting of
filaments
Mechanical bonding by needle punching
Needle-punched nonwoven geotextiles thick; have
high in-in-plane permeability
Geogrids
A polymeric (i.e. geosynthetic) material consisting of
connected parallel sets of tensile ribs with apertures of
sufficient size to allow strike-through of surrounding soil sufficient size to allow strike-through of surrounding soil,
stone, or other geotechnical material
Primary Functions:
Reinforcement
Separation Separation
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In the 1950s, Dr. Brian Mercer (1927-1998) developed
the Netlon

process in which plastics are extruded into

a net-like process in one stage. In 1959, he founded
Netlon Ltd. in the United Kingdom to manufacture the
d t product.
Based on Dr. Mercers further innovative research and
development work on extruded net technology, some
polymer straps and strips were formed into grid-like
products during the 1970s.
The first integral geogrids were developed in the late
1970s and first employed in various applications in the
early 1980s.
In the early stages of development of geogrid,
several universities in the United Kingdom were
heavily involved in a comprehensive program of heavily involved in a comprehensive program of
research that examined the polymer technology.
These universities were Leeds, Nottingham, Oxford,
Sheffield and Strathclyde.
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Initial Extruded Geogrid Developed by
Netlon

Two types: Biaxial

Uniaxial
Geogrids
Biaxial Geogrid
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Geogrids
Uniaxial Geogrid
Commercially Available Geogrids
Extruded
Formed using a thick sheet of polyethylene or
polypropylene that is punched and drawn to create p yp py p
apertures and to enhance engineering properties of
resulting ribs and nodes
Woven
Made by grouping polymericusually polyester or
polypropyleneand weaving in a mesh pattern that
is then coated with a polymeric lacquer
W ld d Welded
Made by fusing junctions of polymeric strips. Have
shown good performance when compared to other
types of pavement reinforcement applications
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Geogrids
Rib thickness0.5 to 1.5 mm
Junction thickness2.5 to 5.0 mm
Aperture size25 to 150 mm
Open area of grids50% or more of grid area
Develop reinforcing strength at low strain levels
(such as 2%) ( )
Triaxial Geogrid
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How do geogrids reinforce?
Reduction of
h
Prevention of lateral spreading
of material above geogrid
Increase of lateral confinement
Increase of
h
Increase of lateral confinement
and hence increase of stiffness
and modulus
Reduction of
v
Less deformation of granular
material
B d i f ti l t
Reduction of
v
Broadening of vertical stress
distribution
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Geomembranes
High-density polyethylene (HDPE), linear low-
density polyethylene (LLDPE), and flexible
polypropylene (PP) geomembranes are
manufactured by an extrusion method.
Major Applications of Geotextiles
Separation of Dissimilar Materials
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Major Applications of Geotextiles
Reinforcement of Weak Soils and Other Materials
Major Applications of Geotextiles
Filtration (Cross-Plane Flow)
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Major Applications of Geotextiles
Drainage (In-Plane Flow)
Utilization of Geotextiles in North America by
Application Area
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Current Uses of Geogrids
Current Uses of Geogrids
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Current Uses of Geomembranes
Geomembranes have been used in the following environmental, geotechnical,
hydraulic, transportation, and private development applications:
Current Uses of Geomembranes
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Current Uses of Geomembranes
Current Uses of Geonets
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Current Uses of Geonets
Current geosynthetic sales are difficult to assess but the estimate for Current geosynthetic sales are difficult to assess, but the estimate for
2003 on a worldwide basis is as follows (note that the values are in
millions of square meters and millions of US dollars).
Koerner, Robert M. (2005). Designing with Geosynthetics, Fifth Edition,
Pearson/Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
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Berg, Bonaparte, Anderson and Chouery (1986)
3
rd
International Conference on Geotextiles, Vienna, Austria
Retaining Wall Construction Costs in the U.S.
(Koerner et al., 1998)
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Full-Scale Test on Geogrid-Reinforced
Retaining Wall under
Earthquake Conditions
Full-scale reinforced soil retaining wall
Conducted by SEC-Atom Dinamic near
Vyborg in Russia June 2009
Full-Scale Test on Geogrid-Reinforced
Retaining Wall under Earthquake Condition
Height 3.5m with sand backfill and TW1 facing blocks
(23 blocks high) giving 86 face inclination (23 blocks high) giving 86 face inclination
Reinforced with 8 layers of geogrid (3m = 0.86H)
Test wall constructed on large shaking table
Total weight of sand and facing around 100t
Extensive monitoring to measure deformation and soil
pressure
Loads applied in 6 earthquakes (EQ1 to EQ6)
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Monitoring
Instruments
Acceleration
Deflection
Earth Pressure
Sand fill
Actuator
3.5m
Shaking table
Supporting frame
Pneumatic cushions
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During Construction
Construction Completed
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Construction Completed
op5: 6/16/200914:44:43 1kHz 15.9s 15900samples 5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
Vertical
acceleration
record
during EQ5
A
3
0
.5
m
/
s
2
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
-0.5
-1.0
-1.5
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Time, s From: 0s To: 15.899s Samples: 1-15900
-2.0
-2.5
-3.0
-3.5
-4.0
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op5: 6/16/200914:44:43 1kHz 15.9s 15900samples
6.0
5.5
5.0
4.5
4 0
Horizontal
acceleration
record
during EQ5
A
4
0
.5
m
/
s
2
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Time, s From: 0s To: 15.899s Samples: 1-15900
0.0
-0.5
-1.0
-1.5
-2.0
2 5
Sand fill
Device to measure
lateral deflection at
each block (1 22)
Actuator
3.5m
Shaking table
each block (1 22)
Supporting frame
Pneumatic cushions
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Instrument to Measure Deflection
Instrument to Measure Deflection
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op5: 6/16/200915:06:59 1kHz 15s 15000samples
P
1
6
2
m
m
2
0
-2
-4
0
Blocks 16 to 20
during EQ5
P
1
7
2
m
m
-2
-4
P
1
8
2
m
m
2
0
-2
-4
m
2
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Time, s From: 0s To: 14.999s Samples: 1-15000
P
1
9
2
m
m
-2
-4
P
2
0
2
m
m
2
0
-2
-4
op5: 6/16/200915:06:59 1kHz 15.1s 15100samples
P
1
1
1
m
m
1
0
-1
1
Blocks 11 to 15
during EQ5
P
1
2
1
m
m
0
-1
-2
P
1
3
1
m
m
1
0
-1
-2
1
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Time, s From: 0s To: 15.099s Samples: 1-15100
P
1
4
1
m
m
-1
-2
P
1
5
2
m
m
2
0
-2
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22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Defl ecti on (mm)
k
Start
H = 0
V = 0
1
B
l
o
c
k
0 4
0.8
o
n

(
g
)
Horizontal
-0.8
-0.4
0
0.4
A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
Vertical
Test Sequence
Earthquake
event
k
h
k
v
1
2
3
4
5
0.24
0.42
0.50
0.55
0 59
0.27
0.62
0.60
0.75
0 25 5
6
0.59
0.63
0.25
0.70
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Animation of Wall Facing Movement
during Earthquakes
Dark brown line shows wall position on Dark brown line shows wall position on
application of load
Fine orange line shows previous location
Large red arrow shows direction of
movement
Lower graph gives simplified record of the
earthquakes
22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Defl ecti on (mm)
k
EQ1
H = 0.24g
V = 0.27g
0 4
0.8
n

(
g
)
Horizontal
1
B
l
o
c
k
-0.8
-0.4
0
0.4
A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
Vertical
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22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Defl ecti on (mm)
c
k
After EQ1
H = 0
V = 0
0.4
0.8
o
n

(
g
)
Horizontal
1
B
l
o
c
-0.8
-0.4
0
0.4
A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
Vertical
22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Deflection (mm)
k
EQ2
H = 0.42g
V = 0.62g
1
B
l
o
c
k
0.4
0.8
o
n

(
g
)
Horizontal
-0.8
-0.4
0
0.4
A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
Vertical
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22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Defl ecti on (mm)
k
After EQ2
H = 0
V = 0
1
B
l
o
c
k
0 4
0.8
n

(
g
)
Horizontal
-0.8
-0.4
0
0.4
A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
n
Vertical
22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Defl ecti on (mm)
EQ3
1
B
l
o
c
k
EQ3
H = 0.50g
V = 0.60g
0.8
(
g
)
Horizontal
-0.8
-0.4
0
0.4
A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
n
Horizontal
Vertical
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Aft EQ3
22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Defl ecti on (mm)
c
k
After EQ3
H = 0
V = 0
1
B
l
o
0 4
0.8
n

(
g
)
Horizontal
-0.8
-0.4
0
0.4
A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
n
Vertical
EQ4
22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Defl ecti on (mm)
c
k
EQ4
H = 0.55g
V = 0.75g
1
B
l
o
c
0 4
0.8
n

(
g
)
Horizontal
-0.8
-0.4
0
0.4
A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
n
Vertical
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Aft EQ4
22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Defl ecti on (mm)
c
k
After EQ4
H = 0
V = 0
1
B
l
o
c
0.4
0.8
o
n

(
g
)
Horizontal
-0.8
-0.4
0
A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
Vertical
EQ5
22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Defl ecti on (mm)
c
k
EQ5
H = 0.59g
V = 0.25g
1
B
l
o
c
0.4
0.8
o
n

(
g
)
Horizontal
-0.8
-0.4
0
0.4
A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
Vertical
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Aft EQ5
22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Defl ecti on (mm)
c
k
After EQ5
H = 0
V = 0
1
B
l
o
0.4
0.8
o
n

(
g
)
Horizontal
-0.8
-0.4
0
A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
Vertical
Q
22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Defl ecti on (mm)
c
k
EQ6
H = 0.63g
V = 0.70g
1
B
l
o
0.4
0.8
o
n

(
g
)
Horizontal
-0.8
-0.4
0
A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
Vertical
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After EQ6
22
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Defl ecti on (mm)
o
c
k
0.4
0.8
i
o
n

(
g
)
Horizontal
After EQ6
H = 0
V = 0
1
B
l
o
-0.8
-0.4
0
A
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
Vertical
Facing after Completion
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Facing after Completion
Indication of
small permanent small permanent
deformation after
the test
Small gap
between top of fill
and facing blocks and facing blocks
Conclusions
Considerations for Seismic Design
Minor shaking: Static design adequate
Moderate
shaking:
Grid layout from static
design adequategrid may
be longer
Strong shaking: Both length and grid layout Strong shaking: Both length and grid layout
likely to be determined by
seismic forces
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ThankstoTensar Internationalforproviding
theslidesforfullscaleseismictestson
retainingwallinRussia.