Modeling microscopic behavior of geotextile-wrapped soil by discrete element method

Abstract

Geosynthetic is gaining great attention in civil and geotechnical engineering. Wrapping soils in geotextile bags (soilbag) as earth reinforcement gives astonishing rise in bearing capacity. To understand the fundamental mechanism and facilitate the development of soilbag's constitutive relation, the authors develop and validate a computational tool for studying the micro-mechanical behavior of soilbag using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). Plate loading on a woven geotextile bag is considered. Spatial difference in the wrapped soil's stress states and fabric anisotropies due to geometrical and mechanical reasons are investigated. Linear and symmetrical stress paths are found at different probed locations. Upon the rupture of the woven structure, the geometrical fabric anisotropy is high and persistent. Analyzing the evolutions of the fabric anisotropies due to normal and tangentialforce and their relation with the geometrical fabric anisotropy help unveil the first and secondary mechanism of such reinforcement method, i.e. confinement and interlocking.