Laboratory Pullout Equipment for Testing Soil-Geosynthetic Interface for Reinforced Flexible Pavement Design

Pullout tests for geosynthetics were developed to support the design of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls to calculate maximum force required for internal stability calculation. In this case, the stability of the system at ultimate or limit state was of concern, and results were reported in terms of coefficient of interaction (Ci) for a given geosynthetic and soil interface. However, to quantify the performance of geosynthetics used in flexible pavements, the soil-geosynthetic interface characteristics at low displacement magnitude is important. An analytical model assesses the performance of soil-geosynthetic interaction, and a new parameter to quantify soil-geosynthetic interaction (KSG1) was defined. This parameter is a function of yield shear stress and confined stiffness of the geosynthetic, which can be obtained from a pullout test. The quantification of this new parameter required test equipment that would be able to define the low displacement behavior of soil-geosynthetic interfaces. However, the conventional pullout box available in most laboratories is capable of predicting the ultimate pullout force as required for MSE wall design, which requires long testing times. To reduce the testing times and to predict the soil-geosynthetic interface characteristics at low displacements, new pullout test equipment was developed that allows testing geosynthetics for reinforced pavement application at low displacement magnitudes. This paper describes the development of new pullout test equipment and discusses the interpretation of test results for a planar geosynthetic specimen to calibrate the proposed parameter based on the analytical model. Finally, the effect of geosynthetic orientation in the pullout equipment on the model parameters and its implication on design of reinforced pavements is discussed.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784413272.246
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780784413272
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Civil Engineers

  1801 Alexander Bell Drive
  Reston, VA  United States  20191-4400
• Authors:
  • Gupta, Ranjiv
  • Swan Jr, Robert H
  • Zornberg, Jorge G
• Conference:
  • Geo-Congress 2014
  • Location: Atlanta Georgia, United States
  • Date: 2014-2-23 to 2014-2-26
• Publication Date: 2014-2

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 2543-2557
• Monograph Title: Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers: Geo-Characterization and Modeling for Sustainability

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Design; Flexible pavements; Geosynthetics; Laboratory tests; Mechanically stabilized earth; Pavement design; Soil structure interaction
• Subject Areas: Design; Geotechnology; Highways; Pavements; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways; I42: Soil Mechanics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01522737
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780784413272
• Files: TRIS, ASCE
• Created Date: Apr 22 2014 4:07PM