Drained tests on sandy soils reinforced with microgrids

A subject of great relevance for geotechnical engineering is the search for economical solutions to improve soil mechanical characteristics. Due to the constant evolution of the industry and the regular launching of new products – developed to compensate for various soil deficiencies - the need for applied research continually arises. Geosynthetics are reinforcement materials that increase soil strength and its traction features. Among them, microgrids have been used as a separating element for distinct materials, but studies on microgrids as reinforcement materials are still not quite common in the literature. This research aimed to evaluate on a small scale the mechanical behavior of microgrids as reinforcement materials in sandy soils by analyzing the strength parameters obtained through consolidated-drained triaxial tests (CD) of specimens with none to 3 layers of the material. The study also compared the performance of sandy soil reinforced with microgrid and non-woven geotextiles of different weights (200 g/m2 and 300 g/m2). Results showed that the insertion of microgrid layers in sandy soils increased the strength parameters, and the behavior of reinforced soil has changed from strain-softening to strain-hardening. The sample reinforced with one layer of microgrid had improved cohesion and friction angle compared to samples with one layer of non-woven geotextiles.