Stress and strain behavior investigation on a scale model geotextile tube for Saemangeum dike project

Abstract

Geotextile tubes are basically a huge sack filled with sand or dredged soil. Geotextile tubes are made of permeable woven or non-woven synthetic fibers (i.e., polyester or PET and polypropylene or PP). The geotextile tubes' performances in strength, dewatering, retaining solid particles and stacked stability have been studied extensively in the past. However, only little research has been done in the observation of the deformation behavior of geotextile tubes. In this paper, a large-scale apparatus for geotextile tube experiment is introduced. The apparatus is equipped with a slurry mixing station, pumping and delivery station, an observation station and a data station. For this study the large-scale apparatus was utilized in the studies regarding the stresses on the geotextile and the deformation behavior of the geotextile tube. Model tests were conducted using a custom-made woven geotextile tubes. Load cells placed at the inner belly of the geotextile tube to monitor the total soil pressure. Strain gauges were also placed on the outer skin of the tube to measure the geotextile strain. The pressure and strain sensors are attached to a data logger that sends the collected data to a desktop computer. The experiment results showed that the maximum geotextile strain occurs at the sides of the tube and the soil pressure distribution varies at each geotextile tube section.