Investigation on failure of a geosynthetic lined reservoir

The paper is concerned with the failure of a geosynthetic surface barrier of an embankment. After a brief description of the project and design, the results of interface strength testing by large direct shear tests and large tilt table tests are presented. The stability and deformation of the geomembrane is then investigated by analytical and numerical methods. The failure is shown to have been caused by a poor initial design and choice of nontextured geomembrane.