On the Effect of Thermal Cycles on the Tensile Behavior of Rigid Fiberglass Geogrid

Studying the effect of temperature cycles on the mechanical behavior of geosynthetic material is essential for the analysis and design of reinforced soil structures in cold climate. High-strength fiberglass geogrids are relatively new soil reinforcement materials that have improved properties with a potential for a wide range of applications. This research involves a preliminary experimental investigation that has been performed to examine the effect of temperature cycles on the response of high strength biaxial geogrid material, namely stiff fiberglass geogrids. Single ribs of geogrid were subjected to different thermal cycles and a series of tensile tests were performed to measure the ultimate strength and strain at failure for each sample. The experimental results are compared and the differences in mechanical properties in each thermal cycle are highlighted. Results indicated that, for the temperature range used in this study, thermal cycles have minimal effects on the mechanical properties of stiff fiberglass geogrids. The results also showed that fiberglass geogrid presents superior mechanical properties with significantly lower strains at failure.