A Comparative Study of the Pullout Strength of Geostraps and Geogrids in Reinforced Soil

The sustainable development of geotechnical infrastructure necessitates using durable, efficient, and environmentally resilient reinforcement materials. This study investigates the pullout performance of geostraps to assess their potential as a sustainable alternative to conventional geosynthetics....

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kshitij Gaur, Ashutosh Trivedi, Sanjay Kumar Shukla
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/14/7715
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Summary:The sustainable development of geotechnical infrastructure necessitates using durable, efficient, and environmentally resilient reinforcement materials. This study investigates the pullout performance of geostraps to assess their potential as a sustainable alternative to conventional geosynthetics. This study focuses on the pullout performance of geostraps, flexible, polymeric reinforcement materials. There has not been a thorough study of their pullout resistance, which directly affects the stability and durability of reinforced soil structures. Pullout tests were conducted on sandy soil in a controlled environment. The experimental findings from the pullout test were then validated in a numerical model. The model was used to determine the pullout resistance of different grades of geostraps for comparative analysis. This helped to identify the possible application areas based on the pullout capacity of various grades. The results obtained for the geostraps were then compared with those in the established literature on geogrids. Initially, the pullout resistance of the M65 geostrap was up to 20% higher than that of a biaxial geogrid. This makes it a suitable option for reinforced earth applications. However, the maximum pullout resistance of geogrids was up to 8% higher than that of geostraps when subjected to a surcharge of 17 kN m<sup>−2</sup> in poorly graded sand. This study highlights the potential of geostraps as reinforcement materials, particularly in challenging environments where conventional geosynthetics may underperform. Future research may explore their behaviour with different soil types and other controlled environmental factors to establish their broader applicability and design charts.
ISSN:2076-3417