Temperature-Dependent Post-Cyclic Mechanical Characteristics of Interfaces between Geogrid and Marine Reef Sand: Experimental Research and Machine Learning Modeling

Abstract

The mechanical response of the marine reef sand–geogrid (RG) interface can be influenced by a high-temperature climate, grain size, and variable stress environments. These factors are critical to the effectiveness of geogrid reinforcement in reef sand engineering. However, there are few studies on the influences of grain size, temperature, and stress history on the mechanical characteristics of RG interfaces, with most studies centering on the influence of single factors on the mechanical characteristics of RG interfaces. In this paper, based on self-developed temperature-controlled large interface shear equipment, a series of before/post-cyclic shear tests were carried out on RG interfaces in the temperature range of 5–80 °C. The impact of different reef sand grain sizes on the RG interface was explored (S1: 1–2 mm; S2: 2–4 mm). It was shown that temperature and grain size had significant influences on the mechanical characteristics of the RS interface. Compared with the S1 RG interfaces, the S2 RG interfaces had higher sensitivity to temperature changes with respect to the before/post-cyclic maximum shear strength. Moreover, in comparison to the before-cyclic shear strength, the post-cyclic maximum shear strength is more responsive to temperature changes. The before/post-cyclic maximum shear strength of the S2 RG interfaces was greater than the maximum shear strength of the S1 RG interfaces as the temperature changed. Based on the results of physical tests, a machine learning model containing 450 datasets was constructed, which can accurately predict the shear strength of the RG interface.