3.1. Tensile Properties of the LCP Woven Geotextile
In this study, an experiment was conducted to confirm the tensile characteristics of an LCP woven geotextile, and this study was conducted with the LCP woven geotextile having the tensile characteristics.
Table 3 shows the tensile characteristics of warp and weft yarns of the LCP woven geotextile.
The tensile properties of the LCP woven geotextile are shown in
Table 3 through the test. As shown in the table, the tensile strength of the LCP woven geotextile in the machine direction (MD) was 192.94 kN/m
2 with the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), and the tensile strength of the yarn was 25 g/d, the strain was 2.8%, and the elastic modulus was 7827.89 kN/m
2. In the cross-machine direction (CMD), the tensile strength of the LCP woven geotextile was 157.50 kN/m
2, which was 81.6% of UTS, and the tensile strength of the yarn was 17 g/d and the strain was 3.9%, which was 39% higher than in the MD, and the elastic modulus was 4423.99 kN/m
2. Therefore, since the MD was 18.4% stronger than the CMD, it was in the direction of receiving force, and was generally constructed so that the load was transmitted to the MD. In addition, due to the nature of the weaving process of the geotextile, the tensile strength of the machine direction (MD) was high because the fiber was stretched during winding of the geotextile, and the strength increased. The test was commissioned by a testing institution, and the test results received only numerical values through the report. Only tensile strength, strain, and modulus were displayed in the report, and the graph was not provided, so it could not be displayed.
3.2. Reduction Factor of the LCP Woven Geotextile
- (1)
Reduction factor
When applying a woven geotextile to soft ground, and considering the load induced or applied within the ground, the maximum tensile strength value obtained through the index test is not applied as it is, but with a correction factor that considers the reduction factor of the tensile strength in the construction conditions. At this time, the correction factor is called a reduction factor, and the type of reduction factor to be considered is selected and determined by the application field. It is calculated by applying the corresponding reduction factor in the following equation, which determines the long-term permissible strength.
For reference, the reduction factor was obtained from Equation (3), which determined the reduction factor in each case in Equation (2):
where
Tult = ultimate tensile strength;
Tallow = allowable tensile strength; RF
ID = reduction factor for installation damage; RF
CR = reduction factor for creep deformation; RF
CD = reduction factor for chemical degradation; RF
BD = reduction factor for biological degradation; and RF
JC = reduction factor for joints.
Instead of the term of the reduction factor considered in Equation (1), the reduction factor that lowers the long-term allowable tensile strength, which is the long-term performance of woven geotextiles, should be considered. The equations applied in this study were as follows:
where
Tult = ultimate strength;
Tallow = allowable strength; RF
CR = reduction factor for creep deformation; RF
UV = reduction factor for UV resistance; RF
CD = reduction factor for chemical degradation; and RF
BD = reduction factor for biological degradation.
- (2)
Creep deformation
A short-term accelerated creep test by the stepped isotherm method (SIM) was performed, and showed a strength retention rate of 62.9% with a tensile strength of 121.35 kN/m
2 within 10% of the creep limit deformation, and the reduction factor for creep deformation was 1.59, as shown in
Table 4. The decrease in tensile strength due to creep was 37.1%, and the strength applicable to the design was 62.9% of the tensile strength, which seemed to have a significant effect on the tensile strength. The reduction factor for creep deformation was obtained from Equation (3), and the reduction coefficient of 1.59 meant that the LCP woven geotextile may be applicable within 62.9% of the design strength when applied in the field.
- (3)
UV resistance
Short-term accelerated tests were performed in a UV-exposed construction environment, and the strength retention rate and reduction factor for UV resistance were measured and analyzed through strength comparison before and after use. The results are shown in
Table 5; the strength retention rate was 92.6%, and the reduction factor was 1.08. This was due to the reduction of the tensile strength due to the exposure to UV rays, and the effect on the tensile strength from exposure to sunlight in the construction environment was thought to be small but not significant. Here, the reduction factor of 1.08 meant that the LCP woven geotextile may be applicable within the range of 92.6% of the design strength when applied in the field.
- (4)
Chemical degradation
Short-term accelerated tests were performed under exposure to soil pH (acid and alkalinity), temperature, and time, and the strength retention rate and reduction factor for chemical degradation were measured and analyzed through a strength comparison before and after use. The results are shown in
Table 6; the strength retention rate was 98.0% in acid and 93.5% in base. The reduction factor was 1.02 in acid and 1.07 in base. This was thought to be due to the fact that LCP is relatively stable to most acids, alkalis, and solvents, as the decrease in tensile strength occurred due to exposure to acids and alkalis, and the effect was insignificant or not very effective. Here, the reduction coefficients of 1.02 and 1.07 meant that the LCP woven geotextile may be applicable within a range of 98.0% and 93.5% of the design strength when applied in the field.
- (5)
Biological degradation
A short-term accelerated test was performed under exposure to microorganisms or bacteria in the soil, and the strength retention rate and reduction factor for biological degradation were measured and analyzed through a strength comparison before and after use. The results are shown in
Table 7; the strength retention rate was 94.3%, and the reduction factor was 1.06. This was due to the decrease in tensile strength due to the exposure to microorganisms or bacteria, and it was thought that the effect on the tensile strength was not significant when exposed to microorganisms or bacteria in the soil. Here, the reduction factor of 1.06 meant that the LCP woven geotextile may be applicable within the range of 94.3% of the design strength when applied in the field.
- (6)
Total reduction factor
In order to obtain the long-term performance of the LCP woven geotextile, the total reduction factor (ΠRF) was determined by applying the reduction factor for creep deformation, UV resistance, and chemical and biological degradation from Equation (5), which determined the long-term permissible strength.
Table 8 and
Table 9 show the total reduction factor and long-term allowable tensile strength. In
Table 8, the reduction factors for creep deformation, UV resistance, and chemical and biological are given, and the total reduction factor was 1.86.
Table 9 shows the long-term allowable tensile strength was 103.73 kN/m
2 in the MD and 84.68 kN/m
2 in the CMD. Here, the total reduction factor of 1.86 indirectly suggested that long-term allowable tensile strength stability is guaranteed within the range of 53.8% of UTS in the case of field application of the LCP woven geotextile.
3.3. Analysis of the Creep Behavior of the LCP Woven Geotextile
Creep behavior represents a deformation process with time at a stress lower than the strength of the material [
19,
20]. Typical tensile creep behavior is described in
Figure 3 for creep strain (solid line) and creep strain (dotted line). Creep behavior can be divided into three stages: first, second, and third creep. In the first (or transient) stage, it is called transition creep; the initial deformation occurs and the strain increases nonlinearly as the deformation increases. In the second (or steady state) stage, the displacement increases linearly with time, resulting in almost constant strain. In the third stage, the deformation increases rapidly, leading to creep rupture, and in this stage, the creep strain increases rapidly.
In the case of the LCP woven geotextile, if an earthquake occurs during actual use, an earthquake load is added, and long-term performance is affected. Creep behavior caused by the addition of seismic loads was measured and analyzed according to the SIM. In the creep characteristics evaluation, creep characteristics simulating an earthquake situation were evaluated by adding a load that considered earthquake conditions for 1 min at a specific point in time. The creep test was conducted at temperatures from 20 °C to 76 °C every 14 °C and with a load of 40–60% of UTS. After the creep test, the earthquake situation was simulated by additional testing for 1 min up to 80–100% of UTS after 1.5 h at 20 °C and 40–60% of UTS. The results are shown in
Table 10,
Table 11 and
Table 12.
Table 10,
Table 11 and
Table 12 show the initial creep strain and the maximum creep strain by adding 80–100% of UTS for one minute at creep loads of 40–60% of UTS. As shown in the table, the initial creep strain was shown at the initial time (0.01 h), and the maximum creep strain occurred at the time when the seismic load was added (438,000 h). Thus, the creep strain increased as the creep load increased and the added seismic load increased. In addition, the initial creep strain was constant when the creep load was the same, and increased as the creep load increased. Here, the creep strain at 40% of UTS and 100% seismic load was 10.35%, which was larger than in the case of a 100% seismic load at 50% of UTS and 60% of UTS. However, the reason was considered to be that the LCP woven geotextile was partially nonuniform or damaged, resulting in a large creep strain.
The behavior of the LCP woven geotextile while assuming an earthquake occurrence 50 years after construction was predicted. Considering that the creep limit strain was 10%, it was predicted that the seismic load would exhibit a seismic resistance up to 90% of UTS of the LCP woven geotextile, assuming an earthquake 50 years after construction.
3.4. Fatigue Characteristics of the LCP Woven Geotextile
The fatigue characteristics of the LCP woven geotextile were analyzed by using the ratio of the crack growth rate and the number of repeated loads. The crack growth rate and expected fatigue life expectancy of reinforcement such as geotextiles were calculated using Equations (6) and (7). In general, the fatigue life of the LCP woven geotextile was measured and evaluated by citing K = 10 N/mm
1.5, A = 1.0 × 10
−8, n = 4.3, and design traffic number = 100,000 times/year as values corresponding to woven geotextiles for reinforcement [
22].
The crack growth rate and the fatigue life can be expressed as follows:
where
= crack growth rate for cyclic load;
K = stress concentrator;
A, n = experimental constant; and
L = thickness of the reinforcing layer.
The fatigue experiment using the LCP woven geotextile was conducted at a fatigue frequency of 5 Hz by applying a partial knitting load using a test sample with a width of 25 mm and a length of 300 mm at room temperature. In addition, the maximum tensile load was 50% of UTS, the minimum tensile load was 100 N/25 mm, and the tensile strength retention rate was calculated from the number of repetitions of fatigue loads at 50,000 times, 100,000 times, 400,000 times, and 600,000 times. The results were calculated by calculating the number of repetitions at the tensile strength retention rate of 90% through linear regression analysis between the number of repetitions and the tensile strength retention rate; the fatigue lifetime is shown in
Table 13. When the LCP woven geotextile was used as a reinforcing material, the fatigue lifetime was calculated by the number of repetitions at a tensile strength retention rate of 90%. In the case of the LCP woven geotextile, this meant that it could withstand 478,000 cycles per year by cyclic loading. It was considered that when the LCP woven geotextile was applied as a reinforcing material, there was almost no possibility of collapse of the ground structure when the repeated loads due to fatigue failure were less than 478,000 times per year.