| Resumo : |
Geosynthetics, materials made from natural or synthetic polymers, were increasingly used in geotechnical engineering due to their low cost, effectiveness, and wide range of applications compared to other materials. When applied to soil reinforcement, geosynthetics compensated for the soil's deficiency in tensile strength by absorbing shear forces, redistributing tensile stresses within the soil, and creating internal confinement. Ensuring the system's stability required an appropriate interaction mechanism between the soil and the geosynthetic material, as well as careful consideration of vertical spacing. In this context, the present study introduced a new approach to analyzing the influence of the interaction between soil reinforcement and vertical spacing. The study was divided into two parts: The first part explained the developed apparatus, which consisted of a box measuring 1.60 m x 1.10 m x 0.55 m (length x width x height) with a glass face, designed to replicate a segment of a geosynthetic-reinforced soil wall. The upper surcharge was simulated using an airbag. The methodology included the construction of soil layers reinforced with geosynthetics, inflating the airbag to apply pressure, and using displacement measuring devices (LVDTs) to monitor displacements at various wall heights. The findings validated the effectiveness of the apparatus in simulating geosynthetic-reinforced soil walls, providing a reliable and resource-efficient method for evaluating soil-geosynthetic interaction in a controlled environment. The second part used the apparatus described in the first study to analyze how reinforcement vertical spacing influenced the face horizontal displacements in a geosynthetic-reinforced soil wall under loading. Face displacement was evaluated during loading cycles. Two non-woven materials, named GTX01 and GTX02, were used to conduct the tests. Results indicated that geotextile properties significantly influenced wall deformation, with GTX01 exhibiting greater initial deformation and different behavior compared to GTX02. The findings suggested that reinforcement spacing, geotextile deformability, and assembly processes critically affected the stability and performance of geosynthetic-reinforced soil walls (GRSWs). |