Development of suction measurement techniques to quantify the water retention behaviour of GCLs

ABSTRACT: Geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) have the potential to act as excellent hydraulic barriers, and have been successfully used in numerous barrier system applications, including composite landfill liners. In order to function effectively in the role of a hydraulic barrier, these products must first hydrate through the uptake of moisture from the subsoil. They then must demonstrate adequate dimensional stability during any subsequent moisture loss, to avoid separation of the panel overlaps. The key to understanding these moisture uptake and retention phenomena is the constitutive relationship between suction and moisture content. This relationship is commonly referred to as the water retention curve (WRC) of a material. Despite the significance of this relationship for the final success of the barrier, only a few studies have successfully quantified portions of water retention curves, and for only a subset of available GCL product types. This scarcity of data is due primarily to the inherent difficul...

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