Analysis of geotextile tubes containing slurry and consolidated material with frictional interface

Geotextile tubes are often used to dewater contaminated or other material. Slurry is pumped into the tube, some of it permeates out through the fabric, and some or all of the particles in the remaining slurry consolidate at the bottom of the tube. This process is often repeated a number of times until the consolidated material (fill) takes up most of the volume in the tube. Interface friction between the fill and the tube may cause a significant increase in the maximum tension in the tube, and may induce failure by tearing. In the analysis of this system here, the tube is assumed to be long and a cross section is analyzed. The tube material is assumed to be inextensible with no bending stiffness, the tube weight is neglected, the foundation is rigid and horizontal, the slurry is modeled as a liquid, and friction acts between the fill and the tube. The relevant parameters are the tube circumference and height, the specific (unit) weights of the slurry and the fill, the height of the fill, and the coefficient of friction. The equations are derived and solved numerically, and the effects of the parameters on the tube behavior are investigated. Friction has a negligible effect on the cross-sectional area. However, the maximum tension, occurring at the top of the tube, increases as the coefficient of friction increases, and can be significantly greater than the value predicted by standard procedures that neglect friction.