Thinning Effect Due to Bentonite Migration on Performance of GCL

Recently, geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) have increasingly been used to replace compacted clay liners (CCLs) in composite liner systems. Since the introduction of GCLs to waste containment facilities, one of the major concerns about their use has been the hydraulic equivalency to CCLs as required by regulations. Laboratory test results and more recently field observations show that the thickness, or mass per unit area, of hydrated bentonite in a GCL can decrease under normal stress, especially around zones of stress concentration or nonuniform stresses, such as a rock or roughness in the subgrade, a leachate sump, or wrinkles in an overlying geomembrane. This paper presents field case histories that confirm the laboratory observations of bentonite migration and the effect of bentonite migration on hydraulic equivalency and contaminant transport through a GCL.