Shake Table Tests to Measure the Dynamic Performance of Geotextile-reinforced Embankment

Using geosynthetics in highway embankments can reduce the impact of hazardous earthquakes by transmitting less excitation to improve the seismic performance. This study uses a 1-g reduced scale (1/50) approach and subjects the model embankment to an earthquake time history as well as several levels of uniform cyclic loading. The main focus of comparison is between an unreinforced embankment and a one, reinforced with two levels of geosynthetics material. Results reveal that geotextile reinforced highway embankment models perform much better under the applied motions. Larger amplitudes cause more severe deformations as a result of the increased dynamic loads. It is also revealed that the effectiveness of the geosynthetics is dominated by the seismic frequency. Deamplification is observed within the geotextile reinforced embankment but the degree of deamplification is highly depended on the predominant frequency of the dynamic load.