Design Considerations for Multi-axial Tensile Testing of Conventional and Next-Generation Geosynthetic Specimens

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4. Design Considerations for Multi-axial Tensile Testing of Conventional and Next-Generation Geosynthetic Specimens

Geosynthetics, and in particular geogrids, have been used as stabilization and reinforcement in various geotechnical engineering applications such as pavements, retaining walls, and embankments. For pavement applications, radial stiffness is important due to the three-dimensional nature of wheel loading. Traditional products, such as commercially available uniaxial and biaxial geogrids exhibit lower stiffness in non-rib directions than in rib directions, which is not ideal for distributing wheel loading. Therefore, multi-axial directional geogrids have emerged in the market. In addition, manufacturers and researchers have recently introduced next-generation geogrids with multiple opening sizes including spider-web inspired geogrids, amongst other factors. Considering the multi-axial variable opening geometry, it is essential to identify the radial tensile properties of these materials. In practice, manufacturers and designers perform uniaxial tensile tests to characterize the strength and stiffness of geogrids. However, this loading condition does not represent multi-axial in-plane loading due to applied wheel loading. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate geogrids multi-axial tensile properties appropriately. The work presented herein represents the first step towards a more holistic approach to multi-axial tensile testing. Specifically, careful design of the test specimen to ensure uniform stress and strain conditions are created is crucial. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is thus performed for multi-axial tensile testing on triaxial geogrids, and the resulting stress-strain distribution is analyzed for different specimen configurations.

2025 International Conference on Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics (ICBBG2025)

General session: Bio-inspired methods for infrastructure construction