LTDS of Geotextiles
LTDS of Geotextiles
LTDS of Geotextiles
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Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles A Primer for Soil Reinforcement Product Selection
SM-101
DISCLAIMER The information, including technical and engineering data, figures, tables, designs, drawings, details, suggested procedures, and suggested specifications, presented in this publication are for general information only. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. While every effort has been made to insure its accuracy, this information should not be used for any specific application without independent professional examination and verification of its accuracy, suitability and applicability. The user shall be solely responsible for the selection, use, efficiency, and suitability of the information, and anyone making use of the information does so at his own risk and assumes any and all liability resulting from such use. Final designs must be reviewed by a Professional Engineer familiar with the project and knowledgeable in geotechnical and geosynthetic engineering. The information is provided on an as is basis and Synthetic Industries disclaims any and all express or implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for any general or particular purpose or freedom from infringement of any patent, trademark, copyright, or proprietary right in regard to information or products contained or referred to herein. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as granting a license, express or implied under any patent, trademark, or copyright. In no event shall Synthetic Industries be liable to user for any indirect, special, consequential or incidental damages arising out of the use, the results of use or inability to use the information.
SI Corporation, 1999
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Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles A Primer for Soil Reinforcement Product Selection
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Introduction The purpose of this SMART SOLUTION is to provide information regarding the proper selection of design parameters relating to GEOTEX high strength geotextiles used for soil reinforcement. The following design parameter will be discussed in detail and recommendations for each will be provided. Long-Term Design Strength Installation Damage Creep Resistance Biological Degradation Chemical Degradation Seam/Joint Strength Soil Interaction These design parameters relate to one or more of the following applications: Steepened Slopes, Wrapped Face or Segmental Retaining Walls, Lagoon Closures, Embankments Over Soft Soil, and Lining System Support. Synthetic Industries publishes guidelines on the use of GEOTEX high strength geotextiles in each of the above referenced applications. Independent publications and design methodologies are available that verify the successful performance and use of high strength geotextiles in these applications. Please contact Synthetic Industries for more information or assistance. Although the information presented in this SMART SOLUTIONS technical note is consistent with the current state-of-practice in geotechnical and geosynthetic engineering, Synthetic Industries assumes no liability for this information. The use of the recommendations in final designs must be reviewed by a Professional Engineer familiar with the project and knowledgeable in geotechnical and geosynthetic engineering.
SI Corporation, 1999
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Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles A Primer for Soil Reinforcement Product Selection
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Long-Term Design Strength The long-term design strength is the allowable design strength of a soil reinforcement product during the service life of a structure. Most permanent structures are designed to a service life of 75 to 100 years whereas temporary structures are defined as having a service life less than 3 years. During this service life there will be occurrences that may tend to reduce the ultimate tensile strength in the reinforcement. FHWA recently published its finding from research on geosynthetic soil reinforcement products and provide similar guidelines, as will be presented in this technical note, for anticipated ranges of tensile strength reduction on each type of soil reinforcement product. These tensile strength reductions occur in four categories. They are: Creep Resistance, Installation Damage, Biological Durability, and Chemical Durability. In addition to the above four categories, additional reduction factors maybe included when joints/seams are used between adjacent panels and a mechanical strength transfer is required. Typically these mechanical transfers are required when constructing embankments on soft soils and capping lagoons. For retaining wall and steepened slope applications strength in the minor stress direction (i.e. parallel to the wall or slope face) is not required and as such the adjacent panels are simply butted together or slightly overlapped a few inches. The determination of the LTDS of a soil reinforcement product, based on GRI-GT7, FHWA and AASHTO design methodologies, is determined from the following formula.
LTDS = Tult RFcr RFid RFd RF jnt
where: RFcr RFid RFd RFjnt Tult LTDS = = = = = = Reduction factor for creep resistance Reduction factor for installation damage Reduction factor for biological and chemical durability Reduction factor for joints or seams Ultimate wide width tensile strength (based on ASTM D-4595) Long term design strength
Appendix A contains two LTDS tables. The first table is for permanent structures and uses a 100 year design life. The second table is for temporary structures and for structures requiring a geosynthetic reinforcement service life less than 11 years. Please note that Synthetic Industries recommends that polypropylene based products (i.e. those with polypropylene used in the reinforcing direction) be only used for temporary structures and with projects where a geosynthetic reinforcement service life is less than 11 years. For all other projects Synthetic Industries recommends to use a polyester based reinforcement due to its superior creep performance.
SI Corporation, 1999 Page 4 of 15
Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles A Primer for Soil Reinforcement Product Selection
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Provided below are brief descriptions of each reduction factor. The associated GEOTEX product testing results are also shown with recommended reduction factors. Since many of the GEOTEX soil reinforcement products are grouped into families of similar makeup, some extrapolation from one product to another is accepted and referenced within FHWA DEMO 82. Installation Damage Synthetic Industries has performed full-scale installation damage on our GEOTEX 4x4, 4x4HT, 6x1, 6x6, 12x6 and 18x6 high strength geotextiles. For the GEOTEX 4x4, 4x4HT, 6x6, installation damage was performed in both the machine and cross-machine direction. Several types of soil were used in the installation damage testing and are as follows: Product 4x4 4x4HT 6x1 6x6 12x6 18x6 Soil Types Tested Clayey sand (SC) with gravel backfill Graded Gravel, Silty Loam Graded Gravel, Silty Loam Sand, Sandy Gravel & Roadbase Sand, Sandy Gravel & Roadbase Sand, Sandy Gravel & Roadbase
Results of the installation damage testing are as follows: Installation Damage Testing Results shown as Reduction Factors Product 4x4 4x4 4x4HT (MD) 4x4HT (CMD) 6x1 6x6 (MD) 6x6 (CMD) 12x6 18x6 Clayey Sand 1.27 1.10 Graded Gravel Rounded Sand Silty Loam Sand Sandy Gravel Road Base
1.05 1.01 1.01 1.22 1.10 1.15 1.23 1.23 1.03 1.20 1.28 1.22 1.03 1.18 1.16
The installation damage results correspond well with the installation damage values published by FHWA DEMO82. One noticeable item with the 6x6, 12x6 & 18x6 installation damage testing is that the compaction effort is much greater than what is typically encountered in the field and the lift height is less than typical too. Strength retention at a specific strain rate, such as 5 and 10%, yield much greater values than the ultimate strength retention values, hence lower reduction factors. Appendix B contains a grain size distribution curve for all of the above soil.
SI Corporation, 1999
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Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles A Primer for Soil Reinforcement Product Selection
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Creep Resistance Creep resistance is a measure of how much a material elongates under a constant sustained load. Each polymer and its manufactured geometry will have varying creep resistance properties. Synthetic Industries has conducted creep strain testing based on ASTM D-5262, Standard Test Method for Evaluating the Unconfined Tension Creep Behaviour of Geosynthetics. The minimum duration for the creep test is 10,000 hours. Polyester Based Products Synthetic Industries has completed creep testing of our GEOTEX 12x6 high strength woven polyester geotextile. This testing was conducted by TRI/Environmental, Inc. of Austin, Texas. Loadings of 20, 30, 40 and 60% of the base line wide width ultimate tensile strength were loaded, in accordance with ASTM D-5262 and FHWA DEMO82. The results of this testing yielded creep reduction factors in line with FHWA DEMO82 results. TRI/Environmental analyzed the creep data and determined the creep reduction factors at a service life of 114 years. Both 10% and 5% creep reduction factors are shown below, however in most designs a 10% strain limit is chosen as the design value. 10% Strain 5% Strain RFcr (PET) = 1.67 RFcr (PET) = 3.77
Polypropylene Based Products Synthetic Industries has also completed creep testing of our GEOTEX 2x2 and 4x4 high strength woven polypropylene geotextiles. This testing was conducted by GeoSyntec Consultants of Atlanta, GA. Loadings of 10, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 50% of the base line wide width ultimate tensile strength were loaded, in accordance with ASTM D-5262 and FHWA DEMO82. Analysis of the creep data, based on FHWA DEMO82, yields maximum service lives of approximately 11 years. Service life reduction factors for greater than 11 years can be obtained through elevated temperature testing, however currently no elevated temperature testing has been completed. Therefore, Synthetic Industries recommends that polyester based high strength geotextiles be used for permanent soil reinforced structures and polypropylene high strength geotextiles be used for temporary structures or where service lives less than 11 years are required. Both 10% and 5% creep reduction factors are shown below, however in most designs a 10% strain limit is chosen as the design value. 10% Strain Limit 5% Strain Limit MD CMD MD CMD 2x2 3.70 3.0* 4.59 n/a 4x4 4.35 3.23 6.67 4.55 4x6 4.35 3.23 6.67 4.55 * Default value used per NCMA (1993). Creep reduction factors extrapolated to 100,000 hours, per FHWA DEMO82 Product
SI Corporation, 1999
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Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles A Primer for Soil Reinforcement Product Selection
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The use of this creep data for similar products is accepted by FHWA provided that the chemical and physical characteristics of tested products and proposed products are shown to be similar. These chemical characteristics for polyester based products consist of molecular weight and carboxyl end group content testing. The physical characteristics consist of having the product constructed in a similar manner, such as weaving or knitting. For applications where uniaxial strength is only required, similar products are considered to be based on the machine direction manufacturing technique only since the cross-machine direction does not function as a reinforcement member. Minimum recommended values for molecular weight and carboxyl end group content, from FHWA, are: Molecular weight (number average) > 25,000 g/mol Carboxyl end group (CEG) < 30 Depending on the desired lifespan of the reinforcement, creep may or may not be necessary to include in the long-term design strength. For example, if an embankment s soft foundation soils are anticipated to gain sufficient strength to withhold the embankment within one year after construction the service life of the reinforcement is considered a short term event and creep is not included. In this case the geosynthetic reinforcement s allowable design strength is based on the above formula using a creep reduction factor of 1.0. Biological Degradation Synthetic Industries conducted biological degradation testing at TRI/Environmental, Inc. using GEOTEX 6x6, GEOTEX 12x6 and GEOTEX 18x6. The geotextiles were exposed to biologically active soil for 30 days and tested using ASTM D-4595. The testing program was an adopted procedure to assess a biological damage reduction factor based on the Washington State Department of Transportation Qualified Products List (WSDOT QPL) requirement, Appendix D. The biological stability of the soil was evaluated using ASTM D3083, Standard Specification for Flexible Poly(Vinyl Chloride) Plastic Sheeting for Pond, Canal and Reservoir Lining, Section 9.5. Cellulose destroying micro-organisms were confirmed after one and two weeks of exposure by testing control exposure strips of cotton duck material. The cotton duck material was tested in accordance with ASTM D-5035, Test Method for Breaking Force and Elongation of Textile Fabrics (Strip Test). Results for the GEOTEX 6x6, 12x6 and 18x6 yielded strength retained values of 100.1, 98.2 and 99.1%, respectively. Hence the reduction factor for biological degradation is 1.0 and corresponds with previous testing and research sponsored by FHWA.
SI Corporation, 1999
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Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles A Primer for Soil Reinforcement Product Selection
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Chemical Degradation TRI/Environmental is conducting chemical degradation testing for the base yarn used in all of our high tenacity polyester woven geotextile products. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is being used as the solution for exposure testing, the same solution used in the FHWA DEMO82 study. The NaOH solution is being used at pH values of 7, 9 and 12 and at temperatures of 50, 60 and 70C. The testing lasts a total of 3 years, however the majority of the testing (high pH) is completed in less than 2 years. As of now, 1/3 of the testing is complete. Hydrolysis of the polyester will be determined via yarn tensile testing and CEG analysis. Based on the FHWA DEMO82 research, polyester geosynthetics are recommended for use in environments with pHs between 3 and 9 only. Since hydrolysis will not occur in most of the applications, a reduction factor of 1.1 for chemical degradation is used. Note that for hydrolysis to occur there must be 2 conditions present. These conditions are presence of liquid and increase in temperature or maintenance of high temperatures (above normal, 20C). Just the presence of water with a 100 year service life at 20C will not cause hydrolysis. Actual product testing results are shown below.
98
100
95
Several studies have been performed on the compatibility of Synthetic Industriespolypropylene fibers and filaments with leachates in various pH solutions commonly encounted in soil or solid waste applications. Since the evaluation of long-term chemical aging of GEOTEX woven polypropylene geotextiles is nearly impossible due to the inherent stability of the polymer, laboratory immersion tests were conducted at elevated temperatures (50 C) to accelerate anticipated behavior. Variables such as temperature, moisture and oxygen content were controlled in the lab and samples were removed at 30, 60, 90 and 120 day intervals. Description 8 denier PP fibers 480 x 1030 denier PP silt film yarns Joints or Seams Synthetic Industries does not recommend splicing reinforcement in the primary reinforcing direction. Hence the reduction factor for joints or seams is 1.0.
SI Corporation, 1999 Page 8 of 15
Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles A Primer for Soil Reinforcement Product Selection
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For applications, such as embankments over soft soils and lagoon closures, where biaxial strength or a mechanical strength transfer is required the edges (cross-machine direction) of the reinforcement can be sewn, however rarely is sewing in the machine direction allowed. Typical seam strengths, based on ASTM D-4884, are approximately 50% of the ultimate wide width tensile strength in the cross-machine direction. Therefore, when designing and requiring a mechanical stress transfer Synthetic Industries recommends that the design strength be doubled and specified as the ultimate wide width tensile strength in the cross-machine direction for the high strength woven geotextile. Please contact Synthetic Industries for further guidance when specifying seam strengths on project construction specifications and field installation of sewn geotextile panels. Soil Interaction Synthetic Industries has completed direct shear testing of GEOTEX 4x1, 6x1, 12x6 and 18x6 using an Ottawa sand, a glacial till, silty sand and a lean clay. Test results for the high strength polyester geotextiles yield soil interaction values of 0.9 to 1.0 for the Ottawa sand, 0.83 to 0.98 for the glacial till, 0.8 to 0.82 for the silty sand and 0.8 to 0.9 for the lean clay. The test results for the high strength polypropylene geotextiles yield soil interaction values of 0.8 to 1.0 for the Ottawa sand, 0.65 to 0.9 for the glacial till and 0.5 to 0.9 for the lean clay. These results correspond well with the published work by Koutsourais, Sandri and Swan (1998) and mostly are greater than the typically assumed design values for these soil types. Koutsourais, et. al. has summarized extensive testing of flexible polyester geotextile and geogrid interaction values and recommends interaction values of 0.9 for sands and 0.7 for clays. For silty or clayey sands a soil interaction value of 0.8 is typically used for both high strength geotextiles and geogrids. As the geosynthetic reinforcement begins to mobilize its strength, an opposite requirement exists for the soil behind the slip zone to resist pullout. This pullout or anchorage length calculation is dependent on the geosynthetic tensile strength, geosynthetic frictional interaction with the soil, soil shear strength and the estimated overburden of the soil. The following equation, used to determine achorage or pullout length, has been adopted from Koerner (1994)1.
Lr = Tg FS po C i (H )( (tan[ inf ) inf
] )
Sometimes the frictional interaction of the geosynthetic reinforcement is masked within the terms of interlock and used in a specification to specify a specific reinforcement physical geometry. The specific geometry is not what governs the frictional interaction of the geosynthetic reinforcement. More importantly the controlling factor is the texture of the material itself. The state-of-the-practice for determining this frictional interaction of the geosynthetic reinforcement is to perform ASTM D-5321, Determining the Coefficient of Soil and Geosynthetic or Geosynthetic and Geosynthetic Friction by the Direct Shear Method.
SI Corporation, 1999
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Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles A Primer for Soil Reinforcement Product Selection
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APPENDIX A
Long-Term Design Strength Tables The following table has been created to assist design engineers in selecting the most economical high strength geotextile. The first table contains information used to calculate the Long-Term Design Strengths of the GEOTEX high strength geotextiles for service lives of 100 years. The second table contains wide width tensile strength results at 5% and 10% strains. This second table is used when the service life of the reinforcement is short enough so that creep does not have to be accounted for in the design. However, all other partial factors-of-safety used to determine the long-term design strength should be used. For more information on the long-term design strengths and where the partial factors-of-safety were obtained, please call Synthetic Industries and request SMART SOLUTIONS SM-101. Please contact Synthetic Industries for additional assistance when selecting a design strength under different conditions than are shown in the tables.
SI Corporation, 1999
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Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles A Primer for Soil Reinforcement Product Selection
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Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles for Permanent Structures
1.67 3.77 1.15 1.38 1.10 1.00 1.00 2272 1893 1006 838
1.67 3.77 1.12 1.20 1.10 1.00 1.00 3499 3266 1550 1446
1.67 3.77 1.15 1.38 1.10 1.00 1.00 2272 1893 1006 838
1.67 3.77 1.15 1.32 1.10 1.00 1.00 2272 1979 1006 876
1.67 3.77 1.22 1.23 1.10 1.00 1.00 3212 3186 1423 1411
1.67 3.77 1.22 1.23 1.10 1.00 1.00 4818 4779 2134 2117
1.67 3.77 1.20 1.20 1.10 1.00 1.00 6532 6532 2893 2893
1.67 3.77 1.20 1.20 1.10 1.00 1.00 8165 8165 3617 3617
1.67 3.77 1.25 1.25 1.10 1.00 1.00 9406 9406 4166 4166
1.67 3.77 1.25 1.25 1.10 1.00 1.00 12542 12542 5555 5555
1.67 3.77 1.25 1.25 1.10 1.00 1.00 15677 15677 6944 6944
Tallow =
* The cross-machine direction LTDS for these products are the same as the machine direction of the GEOTEX 6x6.
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Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles A Primer for Soil Reinforcement Product Selection
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Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles for Temporary Structures
3.70 4.59 1.11 1.25 1.10 1.00 1.00 531 471 428 380
3.0 n/a 1.11 1.15 1.10 1.00 1.00 655 632 n/a n/a
4.35 6.67 1.11 1.25 1.10 1.00 1.00 903 802 589 523
3.23 4.55 1.11 1.15 1.10 1.00 1.00 1217 1174 864 833
4.35 6.67 1.11 1.25 1.10 1.00 1.00 903 802 589 523
3.23 4.55 1.11 1.15 1.10 1.00 1.00 1354 1203 1296 1250
Tallow =
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Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles A Primer for Soil Reinforcement Product Selection
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APPENDIX B
Soil Gradation Curves for Installation Damage Testing
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Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles A Primer for Soil Reinforcement Product Selection
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REFERENCES ___Final Report of Unconfined Tension Creep Testing, Synthetic Industries GEOTEX 12x6 High Strength Woven Polyester Geotextile, TRI/Environmental, Inc., March 1998. ___Final Report of Unconfined Tension Creep Testing, Synthetic Industries GEOTEX 2x2 Woven Geotextile in Machine Direction, GeoSyntec Consultants, January 1997. ___Final Report of Unconfined Tension Creep Testing, Synthetic Industries GEOTEX 4x4 Woven Geotextile in Machine Direction, GeoSyntec Consultants, April 1996. ___Final Report of Unconfined Tension Creep Testing, Synthetic Industries GEOTEX 2x2 Woven Geotextile in Cross-Machine Direction, GeoSyntec Consultants, October 1997. ___Final Report of Installation Damage Testing, Synthetic Industries GEOTEX 6x1 & 4x4HT High Strength Geotextile, TRI/Environmental, February 1999. ___Final Report of Installation Damage Testing, Synthetic Industries GEOTEX 6x6, 12x6 & 18x6 High Strength Geotextiles, TRI/Environmental, June 1998. ___Final Report of Biological Durability Testing, Synthetic Industries GEOTEX 6x6, 12x6 & 18x6 High Strength Geotextiles, TRI/Environmental, March 1998. ___One Year Interim Report of Chemical Durability Testing, Synthetic Industries GEOTEX Base Polyester Yarn, TRI/Environmental, February 1999. ___Final Report of Direct Shear Testing, Synthetic Industries GEOTEX 4x1 & 6x1 High Strength Geotextiles, GeoSyntec Consultants, March 1999. ___Final Report of Direct Shear Testing, Synthetic Industries GEOTEX 12x6 & 18x6 High Strength Geotextiles, GeoSyntec Consultants, August 1997. ___Final Report of Direct Shear Testing, Synthetic Industries GEOTEX 2x2 & 4x4 Woven Geotextiles, GeoSyntec Consultants, April 1997. ___Final Report of Molecular Weight and Carboxyl End Group Testing, Synthetic Industries GEOTEX Base Polyester Yarn, TRI/Environmental, July 1998. ___GRI Test Methods & Standards, Geosynthetic Research Institute, Philadelphia, PA, August 1992. Berg, R.R., Guidelines for Design, Specifications & Contracting of Geosynthetic Mechanically Stabilized Earth Slopes on Firm Foundations, Publication No. FHWA-SA-93-025, USDOT/FHWA, Washington, D.C., January 1993. ___Final Report EPA 9090 Testing, Synthetic Industries 1601 Nonwoven Polypropylene Geotextile, J&L Testing Company, Inc., September 1993.
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Calculating the Long-Term Design Strength of GEOTEX High Strength Geotextiles A Primer for Soil Reinforcement Product Selection
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___Final Report EPA 9090 Testing, Synthetic Industries 82 TEX Woven Polypropylene Geotextile, J&L Testing Company, Inc., May 1994. ___Final Report EPA 9090 Testing, Synthetic Industries 451 Nonwoven Polypropylene Geotextile, J&L Testing Company, Inc. February 1995. Need Koutsourais reference on soil interaction 1998
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