Expedient MESL Construction in Cold Weather

Abstract

A new method of constructing membrane-encapsulated soil layers (MESLs) using plastic membranes, geotextiles, tapes for sealing the membranes, and absorbents for drying the soil were demonstrated. These materials would allow construction of a MESL in cold weather. The demonstration took place at Fort Drum, New York, and at Ethan Allen Firing Range, Jericho Vermont. Three layers of a 271-g/m2 (8-oz/yd2) geotextile successfully protected the membrane during a puncture test, and absorbents successfully caused the soil to act drier to increase vehicle trafficability. However, the geotextile is still too weak to be used in a MESL. Although the individual components performed well, the construction process is too exacting to be performed successfully and is not recommended for Army engineers.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2000
Accession Number
ADA382758

Entities

People

  • Jeffrey A. Stark
  • Rosa T. Affleck
  • Sherri A. Orchino

Organizations

  • Engineer Research and Development Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil Engineering
  • Cold Regions
  • Composite Materials
  • Construction
  • Demonstrations
  • Dump Trucks
  • Electronic Mail
  • Engineering
  • Engineers
  • Excavation
  • Geosynthetics
  • Geotextiles
  • Materials
  • Materials Laboratories
  • New York
  • South Dakota
  • United States

Readers

  • Materials Science
  • Pavement Materials Engineering.
  • Polar and Arctic Studies