Dynamic response analysis procedure for landfills with geosynthetic liners

The dynamic response of geosynthetic interfaces commonly encountered in municipal solid waste landfills were investigated using a shaking table facility. The force-slip relationships for the tested interfaces showed almost rigid and then plastic deformation where the maximum shear force transmitted through the interface increases slightly with increasing slip. The force-slip relationships were modeled with equivalent stiffness and damping ratios. These equivalent parameters were established as a function of slip displacements to account for the nonlinear behavior of the interfaces. Using the equivalent stiffness and damping, the dynamic properties of an equivalent soil layer were established such that the dynamic response of the equivalent soil layer is similar to that of the geosynthetic interface it represents. The purpose of this representation was to allow the modeling of geosynthetic interfaces in wave propagation analysis, such as SHAKE analysis. The properties of the equivalent soil layer were validated by comparing the measured dynamic response of a rigid block placed on geosynthetics with that computed using the SHAKE program and the properties of the equivalent soil layer developed. A procedure for analysis of the dynamic response of landfills with geosynthetic liners is proposed.