Geotextiles and Geomembranes 4 (1986) 179-189

Behavior and Analysis of Geotextiles used on Very Soft

Ground for Earth Filling Works

Y. Watari and Y. Higuchi

Technical Research Institute, Penta Ocean ConstructionCo. Ltd,
I-11-15 Higashi-Ohi, Shinagawa-ku,Tokyo, 140,Japan

A BS TRA CT

One of the most typical problems which is often encountered when

improvement of very soft ground is attempted is that the ground is too weak
to support the weight of the fill which is spread on it. To solve this problem
geotextiles are sometimes employed to cover the surface of such ground to
increase its bearing capacity, but the design methods of geotextiles have not
vet been established. This paper reports on the observational and analytical
results from an experiment using ground reinforcement over the surface of
a very soft clay. The reinforcement was a fabric strengthened by ropes
which crossed the fabric orthogonally. An analysis was carried out using
pneumatic membrane theory assuming the geotextile to heave due to the
upward force of the very soft clay. A good correlation was observed
between the analytical values and the results of the field measurements.

1 INTRODUCTION

In filling operations, involving the spreading of suitable fill over very poor
clay ground to assure construction equipment trafficability, some geo-
textiles, such as plastic meshes, woven fabrics or a combination of woven
fabrics and rope, are being used to increase the bearing capacity of soft
ground and decrease sinking of the fill into the ground. This construction
m e t h o d is based on the principle of utilizing the tensile strengths of the
geotextiles used. Some analytical methods for determining bearing
capacity, taking into consideration the tensile strength of the geotextiles,
179
Geotextiles and Geomembranes 0266-1144/86/$03-50O Elsevier Applied SciencePublishers
Ltd, England, 1986. Printed in Great Britain
18o Y. Watari, Y. Higuchi

have been published by Fukuzumi, 1 Yamanouchi, 2 Shimizu 3 and their

coworkers, but these are not applicable to all cases. Some problems still
remain to be investigated, including the determination of some constants
that are included in the calculations and the strength of geotextiles. This is
especially so in the case of very poor ground with undrained shear
strengths, Cu, of approximately 1.0 kPa, where remarkable plastic flow of
clay ground occurs on spreading fill. Regarding the deformation behavior
of the woven fabrics, where fill is placed on very poor ground, on which
woven fabrics and grid-type reinforcing ropes are laid as geotextiles, the
authors have investigated the following items:
(1) Back analysis by comparing the observed deformations of the woven
fabrics with the predicted results for the membrane structures. It is
found that the deformation of the woven fabrics, bounded by
grid-type ropes, is similar to that of the membrane surface of
pneumatic membrane structures.
(2) Back analysis of heave forces applied to the woven fabrics by weak
clay ground which flows laterally under the action of the fill loading.
(3) Method of determining the required properties of woven fabrics and
the spacing of the reinforcing ropes using the membrane structure
method of analysis.

2 A N A L Y T I C A L M E T H O D FOR MEMBRANES *'5

A deformation theory for a membrane surface can be systematized as a

form of shell structures or suspension structures, with the basic formulas
for a fiat membrane surface being as follows.

2.1 Unstressed curved surface before and after loading

The geometrical shape of an unstressed curved surface is defined by the

following formula, for example an elliptical paraboloid shell, as shown in
Fig. 1:

z = - t6t(~: - ¢)(,7 - ,f') (1)

where ~ = x/lx, "0 = y / l y

Expressing vertical displacement from the unstressed curved surface as
w when upward pressure p is applied to the membrane surface, the
following equations hold:
 Behavior and analysisof geotextilesusedfor earthfilling works 181
/*~'---" Lx --~---~ x

fy~~~ Yf
Fig. !. Membrane surface expression.

Equilibrium equation
~2 ~2
H~.-v-v(Z+w)+Hy.-Z---v(z+w)-p = 0 (2)
ox- oy-
Elasticity law

Hx- Extx tx iflZ

2s - tx L Jo + Uo -ff ) j
(3)

Hy -
Evtv [ _ f / y i ~ : z . ,
2S,?..~ly
lf6' (/j~v')'dy]
-~v w ° ) '}- 2 o .

By solving the above simultaneous equations, the displacement w and

the horizontal components Hx and Hy of membrane tension can be
obtained. The symbols E, t and S represent Young's modulus of the
membrane material, the membrane thickness and the initial length of the
membrane, respectively. In addition, the analysis is based on the following
conditions:
(1) As to the membrane material, the membrane surface has a large
resistance against the tension in the fabric direction, with a linear
relation between the tension and the strain, but a slight resistance
against shearing force.
(2) Being nonlinear differential-integral of third degree, the funda-
mental equations necessitate numerical solution of nonlinear
equations. However, judging from the slight influence due to
neglecting the nonlinear terms in the case where the load is
distributed on the overall membrane, 6 the behavior may be taken as
linear, assuming that the position of the reinforcing ropes is the fixed
boundary without any displacement.
182 Y. Watari, Y. Higuchi

3 OUTLINE OF FILLING OPERATIONS A N D M E A S U R E M E N T S

OF DEFORMATIONS OF WOVEN FABRICS

3.1 Soil conditions on site

The site of the filling operation consists of reclaimed ground, of average

thickness 5.5 m, formed from soft marine mud placed by pump dredgers.
As shown in Table 1 and Fig. 2, the survey result for the surface of the

TABLE 1
Soft Mud Characteristics (Surface Depth 1.5 m)

Gradation Consistency limit

Specific
gravity Sand Silt Clav LL (%) PL (%) PI

2.530 1.4 41-3 57.3 148.2 53.1 95. I

Water Content' W % (A ,= )

Cohesion Cu kPa(o,)
0( 2 4 6 8 10

o~e
oo~ • ~
~oo4 ds~
oO~
o ~ o
E 1.0 ~ o--.oc ~
o odb • OA :

N °io~,.A ~ Survey |

t'-
) ~ ! e&:
=. Survey 2
4a &Acco • De
C3
2.0
o ~G,e
0 I~OSt
e ~
.~ OlOOm
oe~,
Oe~ •
(30 Oe
oo 0
0 0 0 •
3.0 C ;3[;--
O0 0
CO 0
L~

[ Cct~,siomclear mined by test.]

static cone penetration
Fig. 2. Result of soil survey.
 Behavior and analysis of geotextiles used for earthfilling works 183

ground before starting filling indicates a very unstable condition with

natural water content being higher than the liquid limit in the top 1.5 m of
the hydraulic fill. The hydraulic clay fill in this portion showed an
undrained shear strength, Cu, in the range 0.5-3.0 kPa.

3.2 Material properties of the geotextile

The geotextile used as a surface treatment material consists of woven

polypropylene fabric with a longitudinal tensile strength of 1.57 kN/5 cm
(31.4 kN/m) and a transverse tensile strength of 1.37 kN/5 cm (27.4 kN/m).
The reinforcing ropes are made of polypropylene and have a diameter of
12 mm. Figure 3 shows the relationship between tensile load and strain for

TRANSVERSE L
;2
.to
DIRECTION OF
WOVEN FABRICS /
. ROPE

v
_z

p-

_~10
U3 / j' LONGITUDINAL
z / f" DIRECTIONOF
I,LI
P //7 WOVEN FABRICS
u~

g0 10 2O
.STRAIN ( "1o )

Fig. 3. Result of material tensile tests.

the above woven fabrics and ropes. Although there is a slight difference in
the longitudinal and transverse load/strain characteristics of the woven
fabric, the fabric is isotropic for all practical purposes. The reinforcing
ropes, which have a rupture strength and strain of 23.4 kN and 24%
respectively, were placed on the woven fabric at 60 cm centers.

3.3 Banking method and measuring the deformation of the woven fabric

O n e meter of fill was spread evenly around the perimeter of the reclaimed
area and stabilized once the entire thickness sank into the soft clay (Fig. 4).
The deformation of the woven fabric was determined in the vicinity of the
fill where the soft clay pushed up the woven fabric. Deformations were
184 Y. Watari, Y. Higuchi

Fig. 4. The deformation of geotextileson site.

measured by setting a horizontal datum line above the fabric and measur-
ing the vertical distance from the line to the surface of the fabric. The
correct deformation of the fabric (w) was obtained by allowing for the
overall slope of the fabric.

4 C O M P A R I S O N OF O B S E R V E D AND A N A L Y T I C A L
DEFORMATIONS

4.1 Push-up force for woven fabrics

The push-up load (p), for the fabric, to be used in analysis was calculated
on the assumption that the balance between the fill load and the ground is
d e t e r m i n e d by the difference in the effective pressure before and after
filling at the depth where the fill sank into the ground. The vertical
effective pressure (p~) at the bottom of the fill can then be calculated using
the following expression:

p'~ = ( y ' ~ , - y ' ) D = (t9-6- 10.0) × 1.0 = 9.60 kPa

where y'at is the saturated unit weight of fill, D is the depth of the sunk fill,
y" is the unit weight of water.
 Behavior and analysis of geotextiles used for earthfiUing works 185

The vertical effective overburden pressure (p~) is given by the expression:

p~ = (y[sat-y~,.)D = (12.15- 10.0) × 1.0 = 2.15 kPa
where y~, is the saturated unit weight of reclaimed clay.
Thus the increase in pressure after banking at a depth of 1.0 m is:

pl = p { - p ~ = 7.45kPa
On the other hand, the ultimate undrained bearing capacity of the
ground can be taken as q~, = 6.86 kPa by substituting the mean undrained
shear strength, Cu = 1.76 kPa at a depth of 1.0 m, in the beating capacity
equation, q~ = (2/3)CuN', suggested by Terzaghi for local shearing failure
of a continuous footing. The difference between the ultimate bearing
capacity of the ground and the above increase in pressure (p) is given by:

p = pl-qb = 0.59 kPa

It was considered that the difference between the loading imposed by

the fill and the beating capacity is maintained by the woven fabric. It was
also assumed in the analysis that the push-up force for the woven fabric
was applied to the membrane surface just like fluid, because of the high
fluidity caused by the extremely high water content of the soil.

4.2 Comparison of observed and predicted results

Figure 5 shows the observed values together with results predicted by

analysis for various values of the push-up force for the fabric (p). In the
analysis, the value f = 0 was used in eqn (1), and that of Ex tx = E r ty = 2-11
kN/cm in eqn (3) for a half of the tensile strength resulting from the tension
test of the fabric. The value of f was assumed to be 0, taking into

515t o • OBSERVED
ANALYZED
Z /
o |0 . kPa

DISTANCE cm

Fig. 5. Comparisonof deformation.

186 Y. Watari, Y. Higuchi

consideration the probable phenomenon that, despite some wrinkle and

unevenness at the time of laying the fabric, the fill placed on very weak
ground sinks into the ground almost as soon as it is placed, so immediately
causing strain in the fabric, especially in the immediate vicinity of the fill.
Figure 5 shows the deformation on the center-line of the fabric bounded by
the ropes, and the observed value which is in very close agreement with the
predicted value for a push-up force p = 2.45 kPa. The value p = 2.45 kPa
is much greater than the calculated deficit of bearing capacity (0.59 kPa)
because probably the bearing capacity was reduced by the disturbance
caused by lateral flow of the clay. Also, for the purposes of calculation, the
applied load was assumed to be in the form of a continuous band. In this
connection, the back calculation for the undrained shear strength of the
reclaimed ground, corresponding to p = 2.45 kPa, resulted in Cu = 1.27
kPa, which is somewhat lower than expected, considering the fill sank a
depth of I m. From the above analysis the deformation behavior of the
fabric, bounded by the ropes, can be reasonably determined by applying
eqn (1) to the curved surface, eqn (2) to the equilibrium and eqns (3) to the
elasticity law. Analysis of the tensile force induced in the fabric gave a
maximum value of 0.4 kN/5 cm (8 kN/m); this is much lower than the
transverse tensile strength of the fabric which is 1-37 kN/5 cm (27-4 kN/m).
Allowing for the fact that the strength of the sewn joints in the fabric is
only about 70% of that of the intact fabric, the overall factor of safety
against tensile failure (Fs) was about 2.4.

4.3 Effects of reinforcing rope spacing

Figure 6 illustrates the variation in the tension of the fabric with various
loads on the fabrics (p) and rope spacing based on the same assumptions as
in Section 4.2. It is clear from Fig. 6 that, since the minimum practicable
rope spacing is about 50 cm, the allowable upper limit of the push-up force
for the fabric (bearing capacity deficit) is about 5 kPa when employing
fabric which in this case had a tensile strength in the range 1.37-1.57 kN/5
cm (27-4-31.4 kN/m). Since it is possible, to some extent, to control the
tensile force induced in the fabric by varying the rope spacing, in this case
for a push-up force not greater than 5 kPa, an assessment can be made of
required material properties.
For the push-up force p = 2.45 kPa, obtained from direct observation
and analysis, a safety factor (Fs) of 2.0 against tensile failure is assured,
assuming that the tensile force induced in the fabric may increase by as
much as 30% due to the theoretical rope spacing of 60 cm increasing to as
much as 75 cm in practice. An overall analysis for the entire fill area can be
achieved using membrane theory with the tension in the ropes and the
 Behavior and analysis of geotextiles used for earth filling works 187

o.s ¢

!0.t;/ f f

50 60 70 80 90 10D
ROPE lNTERVALS cm

Fig. 6. Variation in fabric tension with rope spacing.

fabrics being determined by distributing the overall membrane tension

in proportion to the respective axial stiffnesses of the rope and the fabric.

5 CONCLUSIONS

In surface treatment works, use of a combination of woven fabrics with

reinforcing ropes permits the placement of suitable fill over very weak
ground. Methods have been introduced to determine the deformation of
the woven fabric reinforced by grid-type ropes and rope'spacings which are
governed by the tensile forces and deformations induced in the fabric. The
results obtained are summarized as follows:
(1) Where the water content of the ground is above the liquid limit, a
marked lateral flow of the ground accompanies the spreading of the
fill, and the deformation of the woven fabric, bounded by grid-type
ropes, is similar to that of a pneumatic membrane structure sub-
jected to normal force alone and can be treated by membrane stress
analysis. In the above analysis, the deficit in bearing capacity
obtained from the equilibrium condition between the ultimate
bearing capacity based on undrained shear strength and the load
188 Y. Watari, Y. Higuchi

applied by the fill may be taken into consideration as the load

applied on the fabric.
(2) Knowing the load/deformation characteristics of the fabric, defor-
mations of fabrics with a variety of properties can be calculated. In
selecting a fabric it is vital to determine not only the breaking
strength and elongation but also the relationship between load and
strain. From this standpoint, it is desirable that geotextile test
methods be standardized.
(3) At present, fabric properties and reinforcing rope spacings are being
empirically determined. However, the analytical results for this
particular project enabled rope intervals to be extended from 60 cm
to 75 cm, using the same fabric. This showed that a fabric with a
tensile strength of approximately 1.18 kN/5 cm (23.6 kN/m) can
exert the equivalent effect with rope spacings remaining unchanged.
From these results it is possible to investigate the interaction
between rope spacing and fabric strength, so allowing the use of a
range of materials.
(4) Remaining problems to be solved in the future include the follow-
ing. (i) The displacement of reinforcing ropes has been assumed to
be zero despite a slight displacement being caused in practice. The
influence of the boundary displacement upon fabric tension should
be determined. (ii) More detailed investigation of the applicability
of the analytical method for calculating the load applied to the fabric
by the soil and the interaction between soil and geotextile, including
the effects of adhesion. Calibration of analytical methods by com-
parison with observed performance. (iii) Dealing with the problems
relating to the durability of synthetic fabrics.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks are due to Professor Mamoru Kawaguchi of Hosei University for

his many helpful suggestions and advice on analytical procedures given
during the preparation of this paper.

REFERENCES

1. Fukuzumi, R. and Nishibayashi, K., The surface-layer treatment of soft

ground using Vinylon fabric. Proc. 22nd Ann. Conf. JSCE (1967) II- 122.
2. Yamanouchi, T. and Gotoh, K., A proposed practical formula of bearing
capacity for earth work method on soft clay ground using a resinous mesh.
Technol. Rep. Kyushu Univ., 52(3) (1969) 201-7.
 Behavior and analysis of geotextiles usedfor earthfilling works 189

3. Shimizu, T., Horiya, S., Toku, Y. and Nishimura, Y., Theoretical approach of
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4. Society of Steel Construction of Japan, Design and Examples for Space
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Rep. Tech. Coll. Hosei Univ., No. 17 (1968).
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