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Comparing Geocell Infill Materials

Comparing Geocell Infill Materials

When using geosynthetics, especially geocell, the main focus should be the infill material in each cell. The infill must be evenly distributed so that the results are effective and do not fluctuate. Besides even distribution, attention should also be paid to the types of geocell infill materials that can be used. Geocell infill can be aggregate, sand, soil or cement (for non-perforated geocell only). The test setup is shown in figure 3.1, with an added geogrid and a clay foundation soil.

Test apparatus for geocell infill materials with geogrid layer
Figure 3.1 Schematic of the geocell material test apparatus
Particle size distribution of geocell infill materials chart
Figure 3.2 Grain size of geocell infill materials

The geocell tests used 3 types of infill: aggregate, sand and red soil. The load-bearing capacity of the geocell-reinforced bed (compared with the unreinforced bed) increased 13-fold with aggregate infill, 11-fold with sand infill and 10-fold with red soil infill (figure 3.2).

Bearing capacity comparison chart for each geocell infill material
Figure 3.3 Bearing capacity comparison for each type of geocell infill

Settlement reduction can be calculated with the Percentage Reduction of Settlement (PRS) formula, where So is the test result without geosynthetics and Sr is the result with geosynthetics for each material type. The results show settlement reductions of 78%, 73% and 70% for aggregate, sand and red soil infill respectively (figure 3.3). Of the three infill materials tested, aggregate was found to be the most effective.

Settlement comparison chart for each geocell infill material
Figure 3.4 Settlement comparison for each type of geocell infill