Performance of Anisotropic Geosynthetic‐Reinforced Cohesive Soil Mass

Abstract

This paper describes the performance of a unit cell of soil‐geosynthetic composite in which the predominant construction and loading conditions of a geosynthetic‐reinforced soil structure were simulated. A silty clay was reinforced with three types of geosynthetic, each having different mechanical and hydraulic properties, and consolidated isotropically or anisotropically before being sheared by plane strain compression. The effects these factors have on the performance of reinforced soil mass under drained and undrained conditions were investigated. It was found that the consolidation stress ratio and the drainage condition during subsequent loading have a profound influence on the reinforcement effect. These factors affect the interaction between soil and geosynthetic, to the extent to which the tensile stress in the geosynthetic is mobilized and thus provides enhanced confinement to the soil by increasing its strength and stiffness. The effects of mechanical properties of geosynthetic on the reinforcement effects were also investigated. Furthermore, the advantages of using permeable geosynthetic with the near‐saturated cohesive soil were demonstrated through partially drained tests.