Experimental Investigation on the Shear Characteristics and Failure Mechanism between Geomembrane/Geotextile Interfaces.

This paper presents an experimental investigation of the shear behavior of the interface between a high-density polyethylene geomembrane and a needle-punched nonwoven geotextile (GT) under monotonic loading conditions. Direct shear tests were conducted using a self-designed experimental apparatus. The effects of interface types (textured geomembrane (GMX) and smooth geomembrane (GMS)), normal stress levels (50-600 kPa), and shear displacement rates (0.1-100 mm/min) were taken into consideration. Moreover, to better understand the shear behavior, the internal shear strength of GT was compared with the interface strengths. Mechanisms of this shear behavior were analyzed based on the test results. According to these findings, the GMS/GT interface shear deformation was governed by two important stages. The test data also provide microscale insights into the GMX/GT interaction mechanisms over lower and higher normal stress levels, which were governed by three stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]