Interface Shear Strength of Sand with 3D Printed Geocells

The current study utilizes 3D printing technology to manufacture geocells on the lab scale. 3D printed polypropylene sheets were ultrasonically welded to make geocells of different pocket sizes. Geocells of three different pocket sizes were manufactured, keeping the height of geocells constant, with the aspect ratio varying between 0.6 and 1.2. These geocells were characterized for their tensile strength through wide width tension tests and peel strength tests. Modified direct shear tests were carried out on 3D printed geocells to obtain and compare the interface shear response. Results showed that including geocells improved the interface adhesion of sands, thus enhancing their interface efficiency. The sand-geocell interface with a 100 mm pocket size of cells showed an interface efficiency of 1.16. The effect of aspect ratio on the interface shear response of 3D printed geocells was also studied and found that geocells with an aspect ratio close to unity showed the highest interface strength.