The influence of constrained dilatancy on pullout resistance of strap reinforcement

It was observed that the pullout resistance factor of strap-type geosynthetic reinforcement increases with reduction in overburden stress, despite the interface friction angle of these reinforcements being less than that of the surrounding soil. This observation was investigated by examining the influence of three-dimensional constrained dilatancy on the pullout resistance factor for a two-dimensional design equation. An analytical model was developed for predicting the variation of pullout resistance factor with overburden stress. The validity of the prediction model at overburden stresses less than 100 kPa was verified by comparison with test results.