Reinforcement mechanism and the stress-strain behaviors of geocells made by non-woven geotextile

Geocell is one of the most widely employed geosynthetics for reinforcing soil beds across diverse applications, including base layer pavement and various structures such as embankments, foundations, and retaining walls. Its reinforcement mechanisms encompass both vertical and lateral cellular confinement, enhancing load distribution. Geocells are commonly made from polymer networks like high-density polyethylene (HDPE), non-woven geotextiles, and geogrids. Each type of geocell offers special advantages and effects on the reinforcement mechanism for the soil bed, dependent on material stiffness and effective opening size. This paper aims to assess both the reinforcement mechanism and stress–strain behavior of geocells (made by non-woven geotextile). To this end, three series of plate-loading tests were conducted on reinforced sand beds. The reinforcement configurations included single cells as well as multi-cells arranged in predetermined patterns. The experiments enabled us to determine bearing capacity, vertical surface displacement and axial strain of cell wall for different pocket sizes and numbers of cells. The results suggest that cells with pocket sizes matching the diameter of the loading plate exhibit superior performance. Furthermore, a comparative analysis between performance of single cells and multi-cells revealed that incorporating adjacent cells, particularly for geocells with smaller pocket sizes, significantly mitigates loading plate settlement. In addition, the results showed that the axial strain and deformation applied on non-woven geotextiles were more pronounced for smaller pocket sizes than for cells with larger pocket sizes.