Evaluation of disturbance function for geosynthetic–soil interface considering chemical reactions based on cyclic direct shear tests

Various geosynthetics for reinforcement, protection and encapsulation are widely applied to civil structures and waste landfill sites. The use of geosynthetics inevitably involves the coupled behaviors of different materials which include large displacement and strain-softening behaviors, etc. Current research indicates that the behavior of geosynthetic–soil systems depend on the shear strength of the interface governed by several intrinsic and environmental factors, such as moisture, normal stress, chemical conditions, and thermal components, etc.In this study, the effects of acidity and basicity from leachate and waste are intensively considered in order to build up the chemical reaction mechanism of the shear strength of the interface under cyclic loading based on an experimental inspection. The Multi-Purpose Interface Apparatus (M-PIA) has been newly manufactured, and cyclic direct shear tests for submerged geosynthetic–soil specimens under different chemical conditions have been performed. A Focused Ion Beam (FIB) analysis has also been performed to induce the reason for the variation in the disturbance function and to verify the hypothesis on the decay-proof ability of geosynthetics.Consequently, a new approach to reflect the chemical effect of geosynthetics has been applied by suggesting the use of new disturbance function parameters in the Disturbed State Concept. The basic schematic of the Disturbed State Concept (DSC) constitutive model is employed; then, new disturbance function parameters are proposed to describe the chemical degradation of the geosynthetic–soil interface under dynamic conditions. Furthermore, based on the FIB results, it is be deduced that the variation in the disturbance function mainly results from the different types of decay in the soil minerals.