Mechanism and Mesoscopic Characteristics of Indirectly Reinforced Gravelly Soil by a Geogrid

Abstract

The geogrid is a type of spatial network structure with a certain thickness; through its interactions with the surrounding soil, the soil can be reinforced. In this study, the characteristics of the interface between the geogrid and gravelly soil were investigated with a pull-out test. To investigate the mesoscopic characteristics of the geogrid-soil interface, the Particle Flow Code 3D (PFC3D) program was employed to simulate the pull-out test, which can reproduce the evolution of the influencing zones of the geogrid during the pull-out test from macroscopic and mesoscopic perspectives. Both sides of the geogrid were characterised by a shear zone and an advanced influencing zone. The geogrid indirectly reinforced the soil within the influencing zones to a certain extent, and the thickness of this zone was rarely related to the normal pressure. Additionally, the widths of the influencing zones above and below the interface were different; the above one was wider.