Mechanical characteristics of geosynthetic-enveloped soils

A fundamental study was made on the confining effects of geosynthetic-enveloped noncohesive soils. A series of uniaxial compression tests was carried out on a cylindrical specimen of dry fine sand compacted within three types of hollow-shaped geononwovens and their axial and radial stress-strain relationships were investigated. The test results demonstrated the marked improvement of the mechanical characteristics such as modulus of deformation, compressive strength associated with reductions in their strain at failure. A mechanism of mobilization of confining radial pressure and deformation restraint was discussed and the estimation methods of an apparent cohesion of geocapsulated granular soil were presented. The confining effects depend on the tensile properties of geotextiles, the relative density of soil and so forth.