Membrane action in geotextile laying on a void

摘要

To contribute in the development of a proper design method to predict deflection, deformation and tensile stress on stretched geosynthetic a small scale test program were carried out at the laboratory to register stress and deformation of geosynthetic layer resting on a bottom of small test tank (1500 mm x 700 mm x 500 mm). The bottom of the test tank, which incorporated a yielding trapdoor (100 mm x 650 mm), and the compacted soil were fully instrumented with load cells and dial gauges. This apparatus allowed the recording of the load transference from yielding zones to higher rigidity zones as well as the geosynthetic deflections. In this way, the membrane action and the stress reduction on the trapdoor caused by the presence of the geosynthetic could be quantified. In addition, the deformed shape of the geosynthetic was measured and compared with analytical results.