Influence of the 3D Printed Geocells on the Liquefaction Response of the Sand
摘要
Liquefaction of saturated cohesionless soil during earthquakes is one of the grave issues in geotechnical engineering. Desaturation, lowering of groundwater level, densification, grouting and stone columns are some of the techniques employed to reduce the susceptibility of the soil to liquefaction and are well-explored in the literature. However, the liquefaction behaviour of the geosynthetic reinforced soil has not been explored by many. Geocells are a class of geosynthetics which are three-dimensional in nature, and they improve the properties of the soil by friction, interlocking and confinement. The additional confinement provided by the geocells restricts the lateral motion of the soil in addition to imparting the apparent cohesion in the soil. In this study, the influence of the geocell reinforcement on the liquefaction behaviour of the saturated sand was analysed via cyclic triaxial tests. The geocells of the required surface texture and tensile strength were manufactured in the laboratory by ultrasonically welding the 3D-printed polypropylene (PP) sheets. The unreinforced and single geocell-reinforced saturated sand samples were subjected to strain-controlled sinusoidal loading. A relative density of 30% was considered. The pore water pressure ratio progression with the number of loading cycles demonstrated a substantial improvement in the liquefaction response of the sand due to the presence of the geocells. The geocell inclusion hampered the pore water pressure development during cyclic loading.