FURTHER MONITORING OF TWELVE GEOMEMBRANE SITES IN TEXAS
Geomembranes may help solve the expansive soils problems. Expansive soils are global. Reports of damages from these soils have come from China, Australia, Egypt, Canada, Israel, India, South Africa and the United States. Conservative estimates of the damages caused by the expansive soils, frequently a swelling clay, in the United States exceed $10,000,000,000 a year. Over fifty percent of these damages occur on our nation's highways and streets. Additional damages are caused by these soils to other transportation facilities including airport runways, canals, sidewalks, railroads and pipelines. To seek ways to minimize these destructive soil movements, the Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation has engaged in a prolonged, continuing effort. Field testing and laboratory work by others had indicated the possibility that minimizing the subgrade moisture change would reduce pavement damage. Geomembranes, impervious engineering fabrics, have been used in tests on the highway system across the state. Geomembranes were first used in Texas in 1976 to control swelling clays. Other projects followed. An initial test involved the horizontal use of the fabric, while others used a deep vertical moisture barrier. Twelve geomembrane sites are being monitored. Monitoring by profilometers (computer reduced to serviceability indices), instrumenting for moisture sensors, and photologging to compare the amount of surface cracking have been used to assess geomembrane effectiveness. Many indications are positive that geomembranes can control the destructive impacts as indicated from serviceability indices. They probably are cost effective. Some results do raise concerns, though none seem insurmountable.
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Corporate Authors:
Texas State Department of Highways & Public Transportation
Transportation Planning Division, P.O. Box 5051
Austin, TX United States 78763 -
Authors:
- Steinberg, M L
- Publication Date: 1989-10
Media Info
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 41 p.
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Clay; Cost effectiveness; Cracking; Field tests; Geomembranes; Geotextiles; Measures of effectiveness; Moisture barriers; Monitoring; Photologging; Profilometers; Serviceability; Subgrade (Pavements); Surfaces; Swelling soils
- Uncontrolled Terms: Effectiveness; Serviceability Index; Surface cracks
- Subject Areas: Design; Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; I33: Other Materials used in Pavement Layers;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00490600
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: DHT-18
- Files: TRIS, ATRI, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Jan 31 1990 12:00AM