{"title":"Leakage of composite cutoff walls through geomembrane joint defects","authors":"Lin-Feng Cao, Yu-Chao Li, Bo Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.04.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.04.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Composite geomembrane-soil-bentonite (CGSB) cutoff walls are effective barriers to contain highly aggressive contaminated groundwater. Defects in the geomembrane (GM) joint are inevitable during the installation, inducing preferential flow paths. An experimental device is designed to measure the flow rate <span><math><mrow><mi>Q</mi></mrow></math></span> through the joint defects of CGSB walls. Experiments and numerical simulations are performed to investigate the leakage characteristics of CGSB walls. The results show that soil-bentonite (SB) enters the joint under pressure and has a sealing effect similar to a hydrophilic gasket, which effectively reduces the <span><math><mrow><mi>Q</mi></mrow></math></span>. As the hydraulic head <span><math><mrow><msub><mi>h</mi><mi>w</mi></msub></mrow></math></span> increases, the internal gap width of the joint increases, resulting in a significant increase in <span><math><mrow><mi>Q</mi></mrow></math></span>. When <span><math><mrow><msub><mi>h</mi><mi>w</mi></msub></mrow></math></span> increases from 1 to 2 m, the maximum increase in the measured <span><math><mrow><mi>Q</mi></mrow></math></span> exceeds 17.6 times. The fracture pore diameter <span><math><mrow><msub><mi>d</mi><mi>f</mi></msub></mrow></math></span> of the joint filled with SB decreases by an order of magnitude compared to the case without SB filling. When <span><math><mrow><msub><mi>d</mi><mi>f</mi></msub></mrow></math></span> is less than 0.1 mm, the leakage of the CGSB wall is mainly controlled by <span><math><mrow><msub><mi>d</mi><mi>f</mi></msub></mrow></math></span>; while <span><math><mrow><msub><mi>d</mi><mi>f</mi></msub></mrow></math></span> is greater than 0.2 mm, the leakage is mainly affected by the interface transmissivity between the GM and SB.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55096,"journal":{"name":"Geotextiles and Geomembranes","volume":"53 5","pages":"Pages 1063-1075"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143886646","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jianmin Li, Junrui Chai, Zengguang Xu, Cheng Cao, Pengyuan Zhang, Han Fu
{"title":"Tensile failure mechanism and stress-strain behavior of scratched HDPE geomembranes","authors":"Jianmin Li, Junrui Chai, Zengguang Xu, Cheng Cao, Pengyuan Zhang, Han Fu","doi":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.04.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.04.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the application of geomembranes (GMBs) for anti-seepage purposes, damage and defects are almost inevitable and can lead to premature failure during their service life. This study conducted a series of indoor tensile tests on defective GMBs to evaluate the effects of various defect types, locations, and geometric characteristics on their failure behavior. The results were validated through orthogonal tests to determine the influence of defect quantity and combination patterns on GMB performance. Furthermore, the performance at different stages was assessed under the condition of varying scratch geometric characteristics. The findings indicate that scratches pose a greater threat to GMB performance compared to other defect types. At the same angle, variations in scratch position have a negligible effect on mechanical properties. Among scratch geometric characteristics, length and angle are the primary factors affecting performance. For practical engineering applications, the allowable tensile stress range for scratched GMBs should be maintained between 2.97 and 3.50 MPa, while the allowable tensile strain range should be confined to 1.78–3.30 %. The evaluation and prediction of each stage of scratched GMBs can provide references for design engineers and the repair of scratched GMBs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55096,"journal":{"name":"Geotextiles and Geomembranes","volume":"53 4","pages":"Pages 1048-1062"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143844764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ensemble-based approach for automatic prediction of pullout resistance of geogrids in different soil types","authors":"Vaishnavi Bherde , Samay Kumar Attara , Umashankar Balunaini","doi":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Determination of the pullout resistance of geogrid, an essential parameter in MSE wall design, is time-consuming and expensive. The present study applies ensemble methods, namely, random forest, gradient boosting, extreme gradient boosting (XGB), and light gradient boosting to predict the pullout resistance factor (<em>F∗</em>) of geogrid. An extensive review resulting in a large pullout test dataset of 759 data points encompassing various influencing features such as normal stress, relative compaction, fines content, average particle size of fill material, embedment length, ultimate tensile strength, and longitudinal and transverse spacing of ribs of the geogrid, and pullout displacement rate is used to evaluate models. Results showed that the XGB (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.91 and RMSE = 0.18) outperformed the other ensemble approaches. Based on the feature importance analysis on the best-performing XGB model, normal stress, reinforcement embedment length, and relative compaction are found to be the most influencing parameters affecting <em>F∗</em>. A simplistic model to predict <em>F∗</em> as a function of only these three influencing parameters is proposed considering the ensemble model. Furthermore, limited laboratory pullout experiments are performed to evaluate these models. The proposed machine learning models fitted very well with the laboratory <em>F∗</em> values with an error within ±3 %.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55096,"journal":{"name":"Geotextiles and Geomembranes","volume":"53 4","pages":"Pages 1035-1047"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143829407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Development and application of a nonlinear stress dilatancy model for geocell-reinforced soil via the FEM","authors":"Bingbing Zhang , Fei Song , Junding Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To address the ambiguities in current ontological models of geocell-reinforced soil and the limitations inherent in finite element analysis methods, a nonlinear stress dilatancy model (NSDM) encompassing geocell-reinforced soil was successfully formulated. This model is based on the interaction between the geocell and the infilled soil, which can consider the confining pressures provided by the geocells and the stress dilatancy model of the soil. A finite element method (FEM) implementation of the model was achieved via the User-defined Material (UMAT) subroutine interface provided by ABAQUS software. Validation of the model was achieved via triaxial tests on geocell-reinforced sand with varying relative densities, as well as reinforced foundation and retaining wall model tests. Concurrently, the model calculation results were compared and analyzed with those obtained from a conventional separated model, and an in-depth exploration of the sensitivity of the model's key parameters was carried out. The findings demonstrate that the UMAT subroutine of the model can accurately predict the reinforced sand triaxial test, the reinforced foundation model test and the retaining wall model test results. Compared with the reinforced soil-separated model, the model delineated in this paper is easier to construct and has markedly improved computational efficiency. Additionally, the model can capture failure within the geocell fill, thereby affording a more precise depiction in the near-failure stage. This research offers an efficient and practical novel methodology for numerical analysis within the domain of geocell-reinforced soil.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55096,"journal":{"name":"Geotextiles and Geomembranes","volume":"53 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143799413","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fang Xu , Junfang Yang , Qichang Wu , Qi Yang , Yitian Lu , Wenqian Hao
{"title":"Prediction method for lateral deformation of PVD-improved ground under vacuum preloading","authors":"Fang Xu , Junfang Yang , Qichang Wu , Qi Yang , Yitian Lu , Wenqian Hao","doi":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A series of finite element analyses, conducted on the basis of modified triaxial tests incorporating radial drainage, were carried out to investigate the lateral deformation and stress state characteristics of prefabricated vertical drain (PVD) unit cells under vacuum preloading. The analyses revealed that the inward horizontal strain of the unit cell increases approximately linearly with the vacuum pressure (<em>P</em><sub>v</sub>) but decreases non-linearly with an increase in the initial vertical effective stress (<em>σ′</em><sub>v0</sub>). The variations in the effective stress ratio, corresponding to the median excess pore water pressure during vacuum preloading of the PVD unit cell, were elucidated in relation to the <em>P</em><sub>v</sub> and <em>σ′</em><sub>v0</sub> using the simulation data. Relationships were established between the normalized horizontal strain and normalized effective stress ratio, as well as between the normalized stress ratio and a composite index parameter that quantitatively captures the effects of vacuum pressure, initial effective stress, and subsoil consolidation characteristics. These relationships facilitate the prediction of lateral deformation in PVD-improved grounds subjected to vacuum preloading, utilizing fundamental preloading conditions and soil properties. Finally, the proposed methodology was applied to analyze two field case histories, and its validity was confirmed by the close correspondence between the predicted and measured lateral deformation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55096,"journal":{"name":"Geotextiles and Geomembranes","volume":"53 4","pages":"Pages 1021-1034"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143777638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Connection failure between reinforcement and facing in geosynthetic reinforced soil bridge abutments: A case study","authors":"Qiangqiang Huang , Xueyu Geng , Feifan Ren","doi":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) bridge abutments are increasingly used in transportation engineering. However, limited research has been conducted on the failure mechanisms of GRS bridge abutments, particularly the connection failures between reinforcement and facing. In this study, large-scale model tests were carried out to investigate the impact of connection failure between reinforcement and facing on the overall stability of GRS bridge abutments. The tests focused on a weaker connection configuration using low-strength cable ties subjected to high vertical loads. Photographic analysis was employed to document deformation and failure processes, while additional data were collected via sensors to monitor settlement, lateral displacement, and strain behavior during loading. The results indicated that inadequate connections between reinforcement and facing could result in progressive deformation, panel detachment, backfill leakage, and collapse under high loads. These findings underscore the importance of a strong connection between reinforcement and facing for maintaining structural stability. To address these issues, improved measures were proposed and validated, demonstrating significant enhancements in load-bearing performance and resilience.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55096,"journal":{"name":"Geotextiles and Geomembranes","volume":"53 4","pages":"Pages 974-984"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143735271","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lihua Li, Kai Sun, Mengqian Xu, Henglin Xiao, Shuguang Jiang
{"title":"Study on the dynamic performance of heavy-load railway reinforced subgrade under flood condition","authors":"Lihua Li, Kai Sun, Mengqian Xu, Henglin Xiao, Shuguang Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To mitigate the subgrade deterioration induced by water infiltration, geosynthetics are employed to reinforce overloaded railway subgrades. Indoor model experiments were conducted to simulate dynamic loads under different axle weights, investigating the impacts of immersion on the dynamic characteristics of reinforced subgrades. Results demonstrated that immersion significantly increased the subgrade's stress, settlement, and acceleration. Compared to submerged unreinforced subgrades after immersion, the geocell-reinforced subgrade exhibited a 33 % reduction in additional stress, while the composite-reinforced subgrade, comprising geocell and geotextile, exhibited a 35 % decrease. The geotextile was placed beneath the ballast layer, with the geocell positioned below the geotextile. Additionally, settlement at the middle sleeper was reduced by 29 % for the geocell-reinforced subgrade under 30 t load and 38 % for the composite-reinforced subgrade, demonstrating that reinforcement enhanced subgrade strength, stabilized the upper structure, and mitigated subgrade acceleration. After immersion, geotextiles play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of the ballast layer and minimizing ballast contamination. A modified model for the additional stress distribution within the ballast layer has been proposed, whereby the additional stress at any point outside the projected surface of the ballast layer can be calculated based on the distances from both the side and front of the sleeper.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55096,"journal":{"name":"Geotextiles and Geomembranes","volume":"53 4","pages":"Pages 985-998"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143738902","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaocong Cai , Ling Zhang , Zijian Yang , Binbing Mao
{"title":"Comparative numerical analysis of anti-liquefaction in sandy soil reinforced with OSC and GESC under sinusoidal loading","authors":"Xiaocong Cai , Ling Zhang , Zijian Yang , Binbing Mao","doi":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Three-dimensional numerical models are developed to investigate the anti-liquefaction of ordinary (OSCs) and geosynthetic-encased (GESCs) stone columns in sandy soil under sinusoidal loading using the fluid-solid coupling method. The validated models capture and compare the vertical and radial deformation, excess pore water pressure (EPWP), and vertical effective stress of OSC, GESC, and sandy soil. Furthermore, ten essential factors are selected to conduct the parametric study. Numerical results reveal that GESC is more suitable for improving sandy soil and resisting dynamic load considering the deformation and EPWP. The bulging deformation is no longer the primary reason for failure. The partial encasement (e.g., 1-2<em>D</em>, <em>D</em> = column diameter) and short floating and end-bearing GESCs (e.g., 1-2.5<em>D</em>) are not recommended for reinforcing the sandy soil. GESC is more sensitive to low-frequency and high-amplitude loads, with shear and bending, whereas displays a block movement under higher frequency and lower amplitude loading. The change in loading amplitude is more disadvantageous to GESC than loading frequency. GESC with a large diameter cannot effectively resist the dynamic loads.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55096,"journal":{"name":"Geotextiles and Geomembranes","volume":"53 4","pages":"Pages 950-973"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143724657","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Minghao Liu , Jiming Liu , Sam Bhat , Yongxuan Gao , Cheng Lin
{"title":"Model tests on wicking geosynthetic composite reinforced bases over weak subgrade","authors":"Minghao Liu , Jiming Liu , Sam Bhat , Yongxuan Gao , Cheng Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Road performance is significantly enhanced by incorporating geosynthetics through their reinforcement and drainage functions. This study introduces a novel geosynthetic that integrates these functions. It is made of biaxial polypropylene geogrids heat-bonded to wicking nonwoven geotextiles (WNWGs). WNWGs are chemically treated to be hydrophilic and thus possess rapid wetting and wicking properties while preserving the large lateral drainage functionality of conventional nonwoven geotextiles. To assess the combined reinforcement and drainage performance of this material, a series of model tests including rainfall simulation and plate loading tests were performed on the WNWG-geogrid composite reinforced bases over weak subgrade using a customized model test apparatus. The results confirmed that the inclusion of wicking geosynthetic composite significantly enhanced drainage, stiffness, and bearing capacity of road bases compared to the conventional nonwoven geotextile-geogrid reinforcement and the unreinforced condition. The modulus improvement factor (MIF) for this wicking composite was 2.74 as compared to 1.46 for the conventional nonwoven geotextile-geogrid reinforcement. The findings from this study demonstrate the promising performance of this new composite and provide a valuable reference for full-scale tests and applications on roads.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55096,"journal":{"name":"Geotextiles and Geomembranes","volume":"53 4","pages":"Pages 938-949"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143715593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tuan A. Pham , Abdollah Tabaroei , Daniel Dias , Jie Han
{"title":"Critical state mechanics-based arching model for pile-supported embankments","authors":"Tuan A. Pham , Abdollah Tabaroei , Daniel Dias , Jie Han","doi":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.geotexmem.2025.03.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The study and application of soil arching theory in geosynthetic-reinforced pile-supported (GRPS) embankments have gained increasing attention, as accurate arching estimation significantly influences load-deflection behavior of structures. While most existing models rely on Rankine's earth pressure theory, which applies primarily to granular soils and neglects cohesion effects. This paper employs three-dimensional numerical simulations to examine the impact of soil cohesion on soil arching mechanisms in pile-supported embankments. Results indicate that cohesion enhances load transfer to piles, with arching efficacy increasing nonlinearly before stabilizing at higher cohesion values. Building on these findings, the ground reaction curve (GRC) model is proposed to predict arching behavior in both cohesive and non-cohesive embankments at various deformation stages. By integrating critical state soil mechanics with the concentric arch model, the transition between maximum and critical arching states is captured through changes in the mobilized friction angle with relative displacement. Model validation against two well-instrumented case studies demonstrates its accuracy, particularly in accounting for soil cohesion. Moreover, the maximum arching model better predicts GRPS embankments under small deformations (relative displacement <4 %), while the critical arching model is more suitable for large deformations (relative displacement >6 %). The proposed model effectively captures arching behavior improvements in both cohesive and non-cohesive soils.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55096,"journal":{"name":"Geotextiles and Geomembranes","volume":"53 4","pages":"Pages 909-937"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143705190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}