Evaluation of the dynamic response of geosynthetic interfaces

An accurate evaluation of interface friction between two geosynthetics under dynamic loading conditions is vital for the seismic design of landfills, flood protection systems and so on. This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation conducted on different geosynthetic–geosynthetic interfaces involving geomembrane and geotextile under static and dynamic loading conditions, using direct shear and shake table tests. The effect of normal stress, sliding velocity, frequency and the number of cycles on the dynamic coefficient of friction for the geosynthetic–geosynthetic interfaces has been investigated using a fixed-block set-up on a shake table. The results show that the dynamic coefficient of friction for geomembrane–geomembrane interfaces decreases with an increase in normal stress, sliding velocity and frequency. The dynamic coefficient of friction for geotextile–geotextile interfaces decreases with an increase in normal stress and frequency, while it increases with an increase in sliding velocity. However, the number of cycles has a negligible effect on the shear behaviour of all the interfaces tested.