Geomembranes for reinforcement?

Q: We are using Robert Koerner’s Designing with Geosynthetics to calculate the required thickness of a geomembrane. See Figure 1 and Equation 1 from the book for details.

Can you point us in the right direction with the mobilization distance, x?

A: Yes, please see Figure 2 for high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

It shows ASTM D6706 Standard Test Method for Measuring Geosynthetic Pullout Resistance in Soil results for saturated silty sand. It is rather shocking how short the geomembrane lengths need to be to mobilize the strength of the geomembrane. These results certainly confirm that geomembranes are not meant for reinforcement.