An experimental investigation on the design and application of an intelligent drainage system to enhance the pull-out strength of geosynthetic reinforced soil

This research shows the outcomes of laboratory-scale experiments to enhance the pull-out capacity of geosynthetic reinforced soil via an intelligent drainage system. The intelligent drainage system is designed inside a pull-out machine and is made of gravel and geotextiles. The drained water is collected in a container. The experiments were conducted following ASTM standard D 6706–01. Various test parameters, such as soil moisture levels and the magnitude of external loads, were considered during the experimental procedure. The experiments included temperatures of 20 ℃, 35 ℃, and 50 ℃ with an initial saturation of about 90 %. The results showed that the temperature-aided intelligent drainage system increased the pull-out strength of the geosynthetic reinforced soil. Furthermore, there was also an increase in the interaction coefficient and the interface friction angle. Therefore, the detrimental effects of a saturated geosynthetic reinforced soil, especially during heavy rains which often cause failure, can be diminished by the proposed system. The research findings indicated that the intelligent drainage system enhanced the pull-out capacity and strength-related parameters of the geosynthetic reinforced soil by approximately 25 %, thereby augmenting its internal stability. The practical implications of these results are thoroughly examined in the paper. • An intelligent drainage system is proposed to enhance the stability of GRS/ MSEW. • The proposed system relieved the effect of infiltration on GRS during heavy rainfalls. • The performance of GRS is increased by 25 % for the baseline case. • Geogrids can be coupled with drainage and a heating system to enhance the stability of GRS.