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Field evidence and laboratory insights into tensile property deterioration of geosynthetics under coupled salt exposure and wetting–drying in GRS retaining walls
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DOI：10.1007/s11440-026-03177-1.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) retaining walls in salt-affected regions are subjected to coupled salt exposure and wetting–drying (WD) actions, which can progressively deteriorate the tensile properties of reinforcements over time. However, the combined effects of salt and WD cycles, particularly their depth-dependent characteristics and implications for durability design, remain poorly quantified. This study combines field evidence from a GRS wall that failed after 21 years of service with systematic laboratory salt–WD experiments to evaluate changes in the tensile properties of geosynthetics. Tensile tests on exhumed polypropylene geostrips show that the shallow reinforcement layers suffered the greatest loss of tensile strength and ductility. In particular, the residual strength of the shallowest sample was slightly lower than the available tensile strength estimated using conventional reduction factors, indicating that conventional approaches may underestimate localized degradation under non-uniform salt–WD exposure. Laboratory tests further demonstrate that salt–WD coupling strongly affects the changes in tensile strength, strain at rupture, and tensile stiffness, and that the severity of tensile property deterioration depends on salt type, salt concentration, WD cycles, and material type. Two empirical models were proposed: a depth-dependent reduction factor model calibrated and validated using the field data, and a salt–WD-dependent model fitted to the present experiments and cross-validated using independent literature data. The findings highlight that ignoring salt–WD coupling and depth effects may lead to non-conservative assessment of long-term serviceability, and provide a practical approach for durability-oriented design of GRS walls in salt-affected environments.
Keywords:
Empirical modeling
Geosynthetics
GRS retaining walls
Salt exposure
Tensile property deterioration
Wetting–drying cycles
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