• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.51-61
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• 2013

This paper presents results from a study undertaken to quantitatively evaluate the geotextile pore sizes using optical image analysis. The evaluation was conducted by observing surfaces of coupons cut from resin-impregnated specimens of geotextile-geomembrane layered under various load conditions. Stereological concepts were applied to collect representative specimens from a series of laboratory tests. The sizes of voids enclosed by filaments were expressed in terms of the largest inscribing opening size (LIOS) distribution. The opening diameter corresponding to the 50% cumulative frequency decreased by about 45mm as the load increased from 10 to 300kPa and recovered to about 90% of its initial state on unloading back to 10kPa. The average void size was reduced by 32 and 16.5% as the geotextile was sheared against a textured geomembrane under normal stresses of 100 and 300kPa, respectively. The results showed how the LIOS distribution varied as a function of normal stress and interface shear displacement against a smooth and a textured geomembrane surfaces.