Bentonite and synthetic fibres in silty clay liners

Abstract

It has been recognized that there is a cracking problem in silty clay liners. The cracks are caused by the municipal waste that acts as a non-uniform load on the liner. Flexural beam testing was performed on silty clay beams of varying compositions of bentonite and synthetic fibres. We have concluded from these tests that bentonite and synthetic fibres increased the tensile strength of silty clay by 6% and 12%, respectively. The synthetic fibres increased the post cracking strength of the silty clay dramatically. Now that the tensile strength and post cracking strength of silty clay have increased, we have proposed a suggested liner detail that is stronger than conventional liners being built today.