Este trabalho apresenta resultados de ensaios de arrancamento de geogrelha, obtidos com a utilização de equipamento de dimensões reduzidas. A força de arrancamento foi aplicada por uma máquina universal com capacidade máxima de 30kN, dotada de instrumentação que permitiu registrar a força de arrancamento e o deslocamento da geogrelha em relação ao solo envolvente. Além disto, o ensaio foi instrumentado com uma célula de tensão total instalada no nível da inclusão. A grande vantagem deste equipamento é o pequeno volume de solo utilizado, resultando em um ensaio mais rápido e econômico, proporcionando um controle maior do teor de umidade e do grau de compactação do solo. Considerando que uma grande parte do estado de São Paulo é coberto por solos de granulometria fina, esse equipamento passa a ser uma excelente alternativa para obtenção dos parâmetros de ensaios de arrancamento necessários ao desenvolvimento de projetos em solo reforçado. Para averiguar a possibilidade de uso do ensaio de pequeno porte, nestas condições, para substituir uso das caixas de grandes dimensões foram inicialmente realizadas comparações, através do coeficiente de interação, entre os resultados obtidos através desses dois tipos de ensaios. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que, para as condições de ensaio empregadas utilizando solos com 100% passando na peneira de abertura 2mm e geogrelhas de abertura de malha aproximadamente de 20mm, a resposta do equipamento, se comparada à de ensaios de grandes dimensões, foi excelente. Isto permitiu que se procedesse a uma ampla análise paramétrica, de cunho experimental, em que se variou a velocidade de ensaio, a tensão confinante, as dimensões das amostras de geogrelha, o tipo de solo e a geogrelha, com o intuído de cobrir diferentes situações possíveis de se encontrar nos projetos de engenharia. O trabalho apresenta os principais resultados desta análise / This work presents results of geogrid pullout tests conducted using small scale equipment. The pullout load was applied using a universal load frame, with a maximum capacity of 30kN, capable of recording the pullout load and front displacement. In addition, the test was instrumented with an earth pressure cell installed at the level of the geogrid inclusion. The primary advantage of this equipment is the small volume of soil used in test preparation, resulting in reduced testing time, greater control of the water content and degree of compaction, and significant reduction in overall testing costs. Furthermore, a significant area of the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil is covered by fine grained soils which could be tested according to its pullout behavior using the proposed equipment. To investigate the feasibility of the small scale test facility, comparisons were made between the coefficient of interaction obtained from tests of small and large dimensions. The results show that for the tested materials there were no differences between pull out parameters from both equipment. Additionally it was investigated the effects of testing speed, confining pressure, sample dimensions, and soil and geogrid materials. Results of these tests are presented and discussed

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo sobre deformações de geotêxteis ao longo do tempo, considerando interações entre reforço e solo confinante em muros de solo reforçado. O programa experimental desenvolvido para esse fim envolveu duas etapas básicas. Na primeira etapa, um novo equipamento foi desenvolvido na Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos/USP, para a realização de ensaios de fluência com um elemento de solo reforçado. O equipamento desenvolvido permite simular o mecanismo típico de transferência de carga em estruturas de solo reforçado, isto é, o solo solicita o geotêxtil. Esse equipamento também possibilita que solo e geotêxtil apresentem deformações ao longo do tempo de forma interativa. Nessa etapa, o programa de ensaios foi conduzido utilizando-se uma areia pura e um geotêxtil de polipropileno. Na segunda etapa deste trabalho, modelos de muros de solo reforçado foram ensaiados em centrífuga na Universidade do Colorado em Boulder, EUA. Os referidos modelos foram construídos utilizando-se uma areia e mantas de poliéster e de polipropileno. Alguns modelos foram carregados até a ruptura com acréscimo de aceleração, enquanto outros foram observados, no decorrer do tempo, sob aceleração constante. Nos ensaios para investigação de fluência, deformações significativas foram observadas, ocorrendo, inclusive, a manifestação de ruptura em determinados modelos, após algumas horas de ensaio. Os ensaios realizados nas duas etapas do trabalho revelaram aspectos importantes relativos à interação solo-reforço. Com base na interpretação dos resultados experimentais, apresenta-se uma discussão sobre mecanismos de deformação, em função do tempo, em muros de solo reforçado. / This thesis presents a study on the time- ependent deformations of geotextiles in reinforced soil walls considering the long-term interactive behavior between the reinforcement and the confining soil. The experimental program comprised two distinct phases. In the first phase, a new equipment was designed and constructed at the School of Engineering at Sao Carlos/USP, Brazil, in an attempt to perform creep tests with an element of reinforced soil. This equipment simulates the typical load transfer mechanism in reinforced soil structures, that is, the load is transferred from the soil to the reinforcement. This equipment also allows long-term interactive deformations between the soil and the geotextile. The testing program of this phase was conducted using a pure dry sand and a polypropylene geotextile. In the second phase of this research, models of reinforced soil walls were tested in a centrifuge facility at the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA. The models were built using a pure dry sand and a polyester or polypropylene geotextile. The models were either loaded until failure increasing the centrifugal acceleration or tested under constant acceleration. Considerable strains were observed in the creep tests, and some of the models failed after a few hours. The testing programs carried out in this study revealed important aspects of the soil-reinforcement interaction. Based on the analyses of the experimental results a broad discussion on long-term deformation mechanisms in reinforced soil walls is made herein.

Flexible or asphalt pavements constitute nearly 94% of the 2.7 million miles of existing roadways in the United States. In a typical rehabilitation project, the existing asphalt pavement is milled up to a prescribed depth for removing the near surface distresses such as excessive cracking and rutting, and a new overlay is placed. The average time between resurfacing projects varies depending on the level of pavement deterioration which is significantly accelerated when poor subgrade conditions are encountered. The use of geosynthetic reinforcement within the new asphalt overlay is often perceived as a mitigation strategy that can delay the onset and propagation of reflection cracking, and also control the rutting and differential settlement. However, some mixed reviews about the performance of the geosynthetic reinforced overlays have been reported in the literature. In Phase I of this study, a laboratory investigation was conducted for evaluating the flexural fatigue behavior, permanent deformation response, and fracture characteristics of geogrid reinforced asphalt beam specimens made from a typical overlay material. The laboratory specimens included geogrid as a single-layer inclusion either at the bottom third depth or at the mid height, and as double-layer inclusion, with geogrid placed both at the bottom third and at the middle of the beam. In Phase II, a case study involving geogrid reinforced overlay constructed over a deteriorated pavement underlain by soft subgrade in southeastern Florida was numerically simulated. It was found that the geogrid reinforcement significantly improved the fatigue and fracture properties of the asphalt beams compared to unreinforced specimens. Results from numerical simulation demonstrated that the double reinforced overlay resulted in the minimum tensile stress at the bottom of the asphalt layer (reducing the cracking potential) and minimum vertical strain on the top of the subgrade (reducing the rutting potential), compared to unreinforced or bottom-third reinforced overlays. Accordingly, it is concluded that the double layer reinforcement of asphalt overlays with an appropriate geosynthetic product can be beneficial for the performance and long term preservation of the pavement system when soft soils are encountered. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

O conhecimento dos mecanismos de interação entre o solo e os geossintéticos é fundamental para o dimensionamento de obras em solo reforçado. Entretanto, em função das diferentes formas geométricas das superfícies das inclusões, a interação pode ocorrer de maneiras distintas. Para as geogrelhas, o arrancamento representa o mecanismo de interação que, em alguns casos, melhor retrata as situações que ocorrem no campo. Esta tese apresenta uma análise dos principais fatores que influenciam na interação entre o solo e as geogrelhas quando solicitadas ao arrancamento, utilizando equipamentos de teste de portes grande e pequeno, bem como um equipamento que testa isoladamente os elementos longitudinais e transversais das geogrelhas. Apresenta-se ainda dois modelos numéricos que permitem avaliar o comportamento de geogrelhas de comprimento qualquer a partir de resultados de ensaios de arrancamento de pequeno porte ou dos ensaios nos elementos isolados da geogrelha. Os resultados dos ensaios realizados são comparados entre si, sugerindo a viabilidade de se utilizar equipamentos de pequenas dimensões para executar ensaios de arrancamento em geogrelhas em meio a solos finos, em detrimento dos testes de grande porte que demandam uma grande quantidade de solo e de mão-de-obra para serem executados. Por fim, apresenta-se um método que, utilizando os resultados obtidos dos testes de pequeno porte, pode ser usado para determinar os esforços de tração nas inclusões de estruturas em solo reforçado, considerando aspectos como a interação solo–reforço e a rigidez à tração das inclusões / The knowledge of interaction mechanisms between soil and geosynthetics is fundamental for designing reinforced-soil structures. However, due the variety of surface geometry found in commercially available geosynthetics, the interaction between soil and inclusions can occur on different ways. For the geodrids, the pullout interaction mechanisms is the one that, in some cases, best represents the field situations. This thesis presents an analysis of the main factors influencing the soil-geogrid interaction during pullout phenomena, using large and small-scale test boxes, as well as an device that tests longitudinal and transversal geodrid elements isolated. Two numerical models for evaluating the pullout behavior of large geogrid samples using small-scale and on element tests are also presented. The results of different tests are compared, showing the viability of using small-scale tests for testing geogrids embedded in fine soils instead of large-scale tests, that demand large quantities of soil and labor to be done. On the penultimate chapter, a method for evaluating the maximum tensile effort of reinforced slopes and walls is presented. This method uses the results obtained from small-scale pullout tests and considers some important aspects as soil-geogrid interaction and reinforcement rigidity

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo sobre o comportamento ao longo do tempo de estruturas em solos finos reforçados com geossintéticos. O programa de atividades desenvolvido para este fim compreendeu três etapas: leituras de deformações de uma estrutura real de solo reforçado com geossintéticos, ensaios de laboratório de fluência confinada e isolada e modelagens computacionais da obra de referência. A estrutura real foi monitorada em duas seções distintas, sendo uma delas construída em geotêxteis não tecidos e a outra em geotêxteis tecidos. As leituras de deformação foram realizadas por um período de quatro anos. As condições da obra real foram utilizadas como referência para o planejamento dos ensaios de fluência em isolamento e confinamento. Os ensaios confinados foram conduzidos inicialmente no equipamento de fluência confinada desenvolvido por Costa (2004), no qual o carregamento é imposto de forma indireta ao reforço. Os ensaios foram realizados empregando o mesmo solo de aterro da obra real, com diferentes níveis de carregamento vertical (140, 200, 300 e 400 kPa) e com diferentes umidades de compactação (8%, 11,7% e 16%). Os ensaios com carregamento de 140 kPa foram repetidos no equipamento de fluência confinada-acelerada desenvolvido por França (2011), permitindo uma comparação teórica e prática entre os dois equipamento utilizados. Ensaios adicionais foram realizados para avaliar o comportamento ao longo do tempo de geossintéticos confinados submetidos a um processo de inundação do solo. E para finalizar a campanha de ensaios foram realizados testes para a verificação do incremento de cargas nos reforços devido aos efeitos da compactação do maciço. As modelagens computacionais foram realizadas empregando o software Plaxis 2D. A partir dos modelos numéricos foi possível verificar os mecanismos desenvolvidos ao longo do tempo de estruturas de solos reforçados com geossintéticos. A modelagem numérica permitiu extrapolar o comportamento da estrutura para outro tipo de reforço (geogrelha) e para tempos bem mais elevados do que os tempos reais de leitura. As previsões de comportamento foram realizadas para tempos de até 100 anos. Os resultados da campanha de ensaios mostraram que os reforços confinados em solo estão sujeitos aos fenômenos da fluência e da relaxação ao longo do tempo. Os resultados mostraram que as taxas de fluência e de relaxação foram mais elevadas para os maiores carregamentos verticais. Os ensaios adicionais mostraram que os reforços sofreram um incremento significativo de carga devido aos efeitos da compactação e que a rigidez confinada dos reforços praticamente não se alterou devido aos efeitos da inundação. A previsão do comportamento do muro de referência utilizando o MEF mostrou que a estrutura deve apresentar baixos níveis de deformação para períodos de até 100 anos. A análise conjunta de todos os resultados obtidos ao longo do trabalho permitiu o desenvolvimento de um modelo analítico que permite a previsão do comportamento de muros reforçados com geossintéticos a partir de resultados de ensaios de fluência em isolamento. A aplicação do modelo proposto para o caso do muro real mostrou uma boa coerência entre os resultados previstos e os resultados medidos em campo. / This dissertation presents a study on time-dependent behavior of geosynthetic reinforced soil walls with fine soil. The testing program comprised of three distinct steps: field assessment of an instrumented geotextile reinforced soil wall, in-air and in-soil laboratory creep tests, and numerical analysis of the instrumented wall. Reinforcement strains were monitored in two different cross-sections: one built with nonwoven geotextile and the other built with woven geotextile. The strains were monitored during four years of service. The field conditions were used as the basis for planning in-air and in-soil creep tests. The in-soil creep tests were initially conducted using the confined-creep test apparatus developed by Costa (2004), which simulates the typical load transfer mechanism in reinforced soil structures. The in-soil tests were performed using the same soil used in the instrumented wall. These tests were carried out at different levels of vertical load (140, 200, 300 and 400 kPa) at the optimum water content (11.7%) and at different compaction water content of the soil (8%, 11.7% and 16%) at 140 kPa. The tests with 140 kPa of vertical load were replicated using the confined-accelerated creep test apparatus developed by França (2011). These tests allowed a theoretical and practical comparison between the two different in-soil creep testing apparatuses utilized in the testing program. Additional in-soil creep tests were conducted to evaluate the behavior of confined geosynthetics with time submitted to flooding of the top soil layer above the reinforcement. Compaction tests were also performed to check the increase of reinforcement loads due to soil compaction. Numerical modelling was carried out with the Finite Element Method (FEM) using Plaxis 2D. The numerical models allowed evaluation of the geotechnical mechanisms developed with time on geosynthetic reinforced soil wall structures. These models were also used to predict timedependent strains for longer periods (until 100 years) and for different types of reinforcements. The results of the testing program showed that the reinforcements confined in soil presented creep and stress relaxation behavior with time. The results also showed that the creep and relaxation rates were higher for larger vertical loads. It was observed that the confined stiffness of the reinforcement was virtually the same regardless the occurrence of flooding in the top soil layer. Additionally, the compaction tests showed that the larger the difference of the soil compaction water content from the optimum, the larger the loads in the reinforcement. Behavior prediction of the monitored, full-scale wall using FEM showed that the structure should have low strain levels for periods up to 100 years. The laboratory test results and the mechanisms learned from the FEM analysis allowed the development of an analytical model for predicting geosynthetic-reinforced soil wall behavior from results of in-air creep tests. The strain results of the analytical model applied to the monitored full-scale wall showed that the predicted strains are in good agreement with the field strains.

Vertical inclusions of expanded polystyrene (EPS) placed behind rigid retaining walls were investigated as geofoam seismic buffers to reduce earthquake-induced loads. A numerical model was developed using the program FLAC and the model validated against 1-g shaking table test results of EPS geofoam seismic buffer models. Two constitutive models for the component materials were examined: elastic-perfectly plastic with Mohr-Coulomb (M-C) failure criterion and non-linear hysteresis damping model with equivalent linear method (ELM) approach. It was judged that the M-C model was sufficiently accurate for practical purposes. The mechanical property of interest to attenuate dynamic loads using a seismic buffer was the buffer stiffness defined as K = E/t (E = buffer elastic modulus, t = buffer thickness). For the range of parameters investigated in this study, K ≤ 50 MN/m3 was observed to be the practical range for the optimal design of these systems. Parametric numerical analyses were performed to generate design charts that can be used for the preliminary design of these systems. A new high capacity shaking table facility was constructed at RMC that can be used to study the seismic performance of earth structures. Reduced-scale models of geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) walls were built on this shaking table and then subjected to simulated earthquake loading conditions. In some shaking table tests, combined use of EPS geofoam and horizontal geosynthetic reinforcement layers was investigated. Numerical models were developed using program FLAC together with ELM and M-C constitutive models. Physical and numerical results were compared against predicted values using analysis methods found in the journal literature and in current North American design guidelines. The comparison shows that current Mononobe-Okabe (M-O) based analysis methods could not consistently satisfactorily predict measured reinforcement connection load distributions at all elevations under both static and dynamic loading conditions. The results from GRS model wall tests with combined EPS geofoam and geosynthetic reinforcement layers show that the inclusion of a EPS geofoam layer behind the GRS wall face can reduce earth loads acting on the wall facing to values well below those recorded for conventional GRS wall model configurations. / Thesis (Ph.D, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2011-04-28 16:56:57.084

With sufficient time, a high density polyethylene geomembrane will degrade and lose its engineering properties until ruptures signal the end of its service-life. This thesis examines the longevity of nine different geomembranes; five of them were of different thickness manufactured from the same resin. The degradation of properties and time to failure are investigated for geomembranes: in immersion tests; as a part of a landfill composite liner; and, exposed to the elements. The different thermal and stress histories associated with manufacturing geomembranes of different thickness are shown to affect their morphological structure; consequently, their stress crack resistance. When immersed in synthetic leachate, it was found that: (a) thicker geomembranes have a longer antioxidants depletion time but the effect of thickness decreases with temperature and is less than expected; (b) inferences of geomembrane’s longevity based on its initial properties may be misleading because a geomembrane may chemically degrade (as manifested by the change in melt index) despite the presence of a significant amount of stabilizers (as manifested by the measured high pressure oxidative induction time); and, (c) stress crack resistance may change before antioxidant depletion or chemical degradation takes place, likely, due to changes in geomembrane morphological structure with the maximum decrease being observed at 55oC. Reductions also were measured for geomembrane immersed in air and water at 55oC. The geomembrane aged in a simulated landfill liner at 85oC is shown to have service-life as little as three years with 30,000 to >2.0 million ruptures/hectare at failure. For exposed geomembranes in Alumbrera (Argentina), samples were exhumed from two mine facilities after ~16 years of exposure. The antioxidants in exposed samples depleted to residual and the stress crack resistance had dropped to as low as 70 hours. Samples were exhumed from a different exposed geomembrane in a test site in Godfrey (Canada) after six years of exposure. The antioxidants were partially depleted, with depletion to residual projected to take at least 20 years; however, despite no evidence of chemical ageing, the stress crack resistance had decreased from 330 to 190 hours, likely due to changes in the morphological structure of the geomembrane. / Thesis (Ph.D, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2014-02-28 04:59:20.834

Baigiamajame magistro darbe, kuris atliktas pagal VGTU, Statybos fakulteto, Geotechnikos katedros pateiktą užduotį, atliktas geosintetinių medžiagų taikymo pagrindo stiprinimui galimybės vertinimas. Darbą, kurio tema „Pagrindo stiprinimas naudojant geosintetinę armatūrą“, sudaro supažindinimas su geosintetikos sąvoka, pagrindinių gaminių pavyzdžių ir jiems gaminti naudojamų žaliavų aprašymas ir taikymo sričių aprašymas, geosintetinių gaminių ilgaamžiškumo ir destrukcijos nagrinėjimas, realiai įgyvendintų statybos projektų Lietuvoje apžvalga, geosintetikos darbo grunte nagrinėjimas ir literatūros šaltinių analizė, pateikiamos dažniausiai taikomos geosintetikos skaičiavimo metodikos. Pagrindinės darbo dalys yra eksperimentinis tyrimas horizontalių grunto deformacijų priklausomybei nuo armavimo tipo nustatymas, jo kompiuterinis modeliavimas programiniu paketu „Plaxis“ bei vokiečių standarto DIN skaičiavimo metodikos sekliojo pamato galios nustatymui nagrinėjimas ir analogiškos situacijos rezultatų gautų kompiuterinio modeliavimo programa „GEO5“ palyginimas. Darbe pateikiami atliktų eksperimentų metodikų aprašymai, nuotraukos iš tyrimo vietų bei gauti rezultatai ir jais paremtos išvados bei rekomendacijos. / The Masters thesis has been done by the tasks of the Department of Civil Engineering of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. Thesis, titled „Ground reinforcement using geogrids“, contains introduction of geosynthetics conception, description of main products and raw materials used in manufacture process, analysis of geosynthetics‘ durability and destruction, overview of construction projects with geosynthetics used in Lithuania, analysis of geosynthetics‘ and soils‘ performance, investigation and analysis of usually used geosynthetics designing methodology. The main parts of the work is an experimental study of horizontal ground deformation dependence on reinforcement type, the computer simulation with program package „Plaxis“ and analysis of German DIN standard calculation methodology for shallow foundation bearing capacity on reinforced subgrade and results comparison with ones obtained by computer simulation program „GEO5“. The paper presents the methodologies and descriptions of carried experiments, photos from test sites, conclusions and recommendations based on obtained results.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 2001. / A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, School of Civic Engineering and Environment, University of Western Sydney, Nepean, January, 2001. Bibliography : p. 215-225.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 238-250.