Centrifuge Testing of Fiber-Reinforced Soil Liners for Waste Containment Systems

摘要

The objective of this paper is to study the deformation behavior of moist-compacted soil liners with and without inclusion of discrete and randomly distributed fibers for waste containment systems at the onset of nonuniform settlements in a geotechnical centrifuge. First, scaling considerations pertaining to simulation of discretely mixed fibers in a centrifuge are presented. A series of centrifuge tests were carried out by varying aspect ratio and dosage of fibers in a soil liner of 1.2 m thick and compacted at its standard Proctor compaction. Controlled in-flight simulation of nonuniform settlements in a centrifuge was carried out using a trap-door arrangement at 40 g. It was observed that the aspect ratio and fiber content has a significant affect in restraining cracks for a randomly reinforced soil liner at the onset of nonuniform settlements. In addition to centrifuge test results, flexural behavior of soil beams with and without discrete and randomly distributed fibers was evaluated in the laboratory to bring out significance of fiber content and aspect ratio. The analysis and interpretation of test results indicate the significant potential for fiber reinforcement to decrease and to retard soil crack potential in a randomly reinforced soil liner while retaining its hydraulic performance.