Variation of Pull-out Resistance of Geogrid with Degree of Saturation of Soil

This paper presents the results of experimental investigation on the effect of degree of saturation of soil on the pullout behavior of a geogrid. Different test variables were taken into account while performing the experiment including the soil physical conditions based on water content and external loading applied. The soil used was locally available weathered granite soil. The tests included variations in saturation of about 90%, 80%, 70% and 45% (optimum moisture content). The pullout tests were performed according to ASTM standard D 6706-01. The results indicate that increasing the degree of saturation in the soil decreases the pull-out capacity, which in turn decreases the interface friction angle and interaction coefficient. The decrease in the pullout interface coefficient was observed to be around 12.50% to 33.33% depending on the normal load and degree of saturation of the soil. The test results demonstrated the detrimental effect of increasing the degree of saturation within the reinforce soil on the pullout behavior of reinforcement, thus on the internal stability. The practical inferences of the outcomes are analyzed in detail.