3D-Printed Geocells: An Analysis of Strength and Interface Shear Behaviour
摘要
The use of geosynthetics as a ground improvement technique has proven to be a sustainable, less energy-intensive, and cost-effective approach. Geocells are a class of geosynthetics, which consists of interconnected polymeric cells filled with soil. The geocells improve the properties of the soil by friction, interlocking, and confinement, indicating the surface texture and the tensile strength of the geocells play an important role in determining the degree of improvement caused due to geocells. The control of surface texture and tensile strength of the geocells can be achieved through 3D printing and ultrasonic welding, which facilitates controlled laboratory testing on the soil reinforced with scaled-down geocells. The Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) 3D printer was used to print the polypropylene sheets which were then ultrasonically welded to form geocell pockets of required physical dimensions. The influence of the printing parameters like the speed of printing, angle of printing, and number of layers printing on the tensile strength of the PP sheet and on sand-PP sheet interface properties was studied. Further, the efficiency of the ultrasonic welding was analysed through junction peel strength tests.