A Potential Composite Material for Possible Applications in Earth Reinforcement

Abstract

It is evident that the inadequate frictional resistance and meager cohesion of conventional reinforcements in reinforced earth structures such as geogrids, geosynthetics and wire meshes are serious shortcomings that not only impose constraints in structural designs, but also affect the stability of reinforced earth structures. In this regard, the benefits of earth reinforcing materials in improving the interaction resistances are eminent. For the reinforcement to be effective, two conditions need to be satisfied i.e. it must possess enough strength to withstand tension failure and adhesion failure. This paper highlights some experimental results on the performance behavior of thin cementitious composite elements reinforced by wire meshes under shear tests in soil. It was demonstrated that the use of small stones on the surface of thin cementitious composite elements and making small channels on the surface of thin cementitious composite elements enhanced interaction resistance of thin cementitious composite elements in soil and lead to significant improvement of their structural performance as compared to conventional composite reinforcement in reinforced earth structures. The angle of interfacial friction, a measure of thin cementitious composite elements’ frictional resistance, was increased by 1.66, 14.81, 21.57 and 23.78% whereas the cohesion, a measure of bonding phenomena between the thin cementitious composite elements and earth, was increased by 29.15, 69.30, 104.05, 132.04% for thin cementitious composite elements containing stone, 2, 4 and 6 channels, respectively. Comparison of the shear test results of thin cementitious composite elements with other conventional reinforcements such as geogrid, geosynthetics and wire meshes revealed that the thin cementitious composite elements can be used as a potential reinforcing material for earth reinforcement’s applications.