Effect of Geogrid Aperture Size and Soil Particle Size on Geogrid-Soil Interaction under Pull-Out Loading

In civil engineering applications, geogrid materials are widely used to reinforce retaining walls, roads, highways, and railway ballasts. Therefore, studying the geogrid-soil interaction under pullout condition is important for any successful design.
In this work, five types of geogrid samples with various aperture dimensions were produced and used for conducting pull-out tests. Four types of soils with different particle size distribution (PSD) and grading were used for this purpose. It was found that aperture dimension is an influential factor in the pull-out resistance (POR) of geogrids and should be selected properly based on the PSD of the soil. Soil grading was also found to be an important factor in selecting aperture dimensions. It was observed that POR is more sensitive to transverse rib density of geogrids rather than their longitudinal rib density.