Soil-geogrid interaction: The shear zone thickness of seafloor sediments with geogrid compared to filling materials

Abstract

In geotechnical applications close to marine areas, using soil with rounded gravel that waves have left on the seafloor as fill material can help ensure the sustainable use of natural resources. However, typical fill materials have more shear strength than rounded sediments, but geogrids can solve the issue. Nevertheless, it is not well known how the grains’ shape factors will affect the soil-geogrid interlocking mechanism and how the soil-geogrid interlocking based on grain shape will vary in the soil above and below the geogrid. This study aims to address the ambiguities specified. Therefore, three soil specimens were acquired, and the grains’ shape parameters were determined using image processing. Subsequently, soil specimens were tested using large-scale direct shear (LSDS) and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) tests. Besides, LSDS tests were conducted by placing the geogrid at the shear surface, at different depths beneath the shear surface, and at varying levels above the shear surface to assess the soil-geogrid interaction distance. The findings showed that soil with seafloor gravels, using geogrid, could have the same shear strength as soil with crushed aggregates. Also, the highest shear strength was achieved when the geogrid was located below the shear surface by the maximum grain diameter.