Scale Effects of Direct Shear Box on Behavior of Geogrid-Sand Interface

Direct shear test is one of the simplest and most economical tests to measure shear strength parameters of dry or saturated sandy soil as well as soil-geogrid interaction parameters.In the current study the effects of specimen size and density on soil-geogrid interaction parameters employing shear boxes of 6 6 cm, 10 10 cm and 30 30 cm have been investigated.Results show that increasing specimen size of unreinforced sand with constant density results in a decrease in angle of friction which has been attributed to reduced confinement effect using larger shear boxes.The rate of reduction in angle of friction is increased by increasing soil density and using geogrid as reinforcement.