ABSTRACT
Geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) with geomembranes (GMs) placed on slopes as part of composite liner systems may be subject to a complex, time-dependent state of stresses. Stability is a major concern for side slopes in bottom liner or cover systems that include GCLs and GMs because of the wide range of commercially available GCL products, the change in behavior with exposure to water, variability in the quality of internal GCL reinforcement and GM texturing, and the low shear strength of hydrated sodium bentonite. Accordingly, proper project-and product-specific shear strength characterization is needed for the different materials and interfaces in composite liner systems.
