Frictional behaviour of three critical geosynthetic interfaces

ABSTRACT: This paper's scope is the shear interaction mechanisms of three critical geosynthetic interfaces (geotextile/geomembrane; drainage geocomposite/geomembrane and soil/geomembrane) typically used for lined containment facilities such as landfills. A large direct shear machine was used to carry out 159 geosynthetic interface tests. The results showed strain softening behaviour, a very small dilatancy, 0.1–1 mm, and non-linear failure envelopes at normal stress range of 25–500 kPa. The three types of interfaces present the same main interaction mechanisms: interlocking and friction. For geotextile/geomembrane and drainage geocomposite/geomembrane interfaces, the higher the asperity height, the higher the interface shear strength. Whereas for soil/geomembrane interfaces, the higher the soil shear strength, the higher the interface shear strength. The drainage geocomposite/geomembrane interface showed the lowest friction angles, followed by the geotextile/geomembrane and the soil/geomembrane interfaces.