Efficiency of Geosynthetic Protection Layers for Geomembrane Liners: Performance in a Large-Scale Model Test

Geomembrane landfill basal liners must be protected from damage caused by overlying, large-particle leachate collection/drainage systems. Geosynthetics, such as geotextiles and geocomposites, are being used as protection layers for geomembrane liners. To date, there has been no systematic observation as to the efficiency of these protection layers in a landfill. Large-scale tests were carried out at LGA-Geotechnical Institute in Nuremberg, Germany to model field conditions at the base of a landfill. The geomembranes showed no signs of damage after long-term loads of approximately 800 kPa. For the large-scale tests, higher maximum local strain values were measured than in standard, small-scale protection efficiency laboratory tests. Although the maximum strain measured in the large-scale tests exceeded 0.25%, which is the limiting maximum strain value according to the German approval procedure, the protection layers performed satisfactorily.