Large scale centrifuge test of a geomembrane-lined landfill subject to waste settlement and seismic loading

• Published in: Waste management (Elmsford) Vol. 68; pp. 252 - 262
• Main Authors: Kavazanjian, Edward, Gutierrez, Angel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2017
• Subjects: accelerometers; California; Centrifuge; CENTRIFUGES; data collection; Downdrag; earthquakes; Geomembrane; geophysics; GROUND MOTION; instrumentation; Landfill; landfills; Liner; MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES; mathematical models; Modeling; Models, Theoretical; NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION; Polyethylene; Refuse Disposal; SANITARY LANDFILLS; Seismic; shear strength; SIMULATION; Strain; STRAIN GAGES; tensile strength; THIN FILMS; Waste; Waste Disposal Facilities; WASTES; California; Centrifuge; Landfill; Downdrag; Geomembrane; Seismic; Modeling; Waste; Liner; Strain
• ISSN: 0956-053X; 1879-2456
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2017.01.029

•A large centrifuge model of a geomembrane-lined landfill was seismically loaded.•The scaled peak acceleration of the strongest input motion was 0.6 g.•Laboratory testing was conducted to obtain properties of the model materials.•Collected data included liner strains due to downdrag and seismic loading.•Results show that settlement and seismic loading can potentially damage geomembranes.•Results can be used to validate numerical models for geomembrane performance.•The laboratory and centrifuge testing data is publicly available. A large scale centrifuge test of a geomembrane-lined landfill subject to waste settlement and seismic loading was conducted to help validate a numerical model for performance based design of geomembrane liner systems. The test was conducted using the 240g-ton centrifuge at the University of California at Davis under the U.S. National Science Foundation Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation Research (NEESR) program. A 0.05mm thin film membrane was used to model the liner. The waste was modeled using a peat-sand mixture. The side slope membrane was underlain by lubricated low density polyethylene to maximize the difference between the interface shear strength on the top and bottom of the geomembrane and the induced tension in it. Instrumentation included thin film strain gages to monitor geomembrane strains and accelerometers to monitor seismic excitation. The model was subjected to an input design motion intended to simulate strong ground motion from the 1994 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake. Results indicate that downdrag waste settlement and seismic loading together, and possibly each phenomenon individually, can induce potentially damaging tensile strains in geomembrane liners. The data collected from this test is publically available and can be used to validate numerical models for the performance of geomembrane liner systems.