New approach to determine the influence of geocells in drainage structures filled with concrete materials: Submerged abrasion test

Abstract

Concrete-filled geocells have been increasingly used in hydraulic and erosion-control works; however, their performance is still commonly evaluated using methods developed for monolithic concrete, which do not account for the contribution of geosynthetic confinement. This study presents a performance- based evaluation of concrete-filled geocells as a geosynthetic composite lining subjected to abrasive hydraulic conditions and proposes an adapted testing methodology capable of incorporating representative cellular geometries. A modified submerged abrasion test, derived from ASTM C1138M and complementary hydraulic assessment concepts, was developed to compare conventional concrete surfaces with geocell- confined systems under controlled abrasive exposure. The results demonstrate significant reductions in cumulative mass loss, ranging from 29.3% to 51.7% for smaller cell openings and from 10.5% to 39.3% for larger configurations, confirming that cellular confinement directly influences degradation behaviour. A key contribution of the study is the identification of the Geocell-Induced Protective Zone (GIPZ), a mechanism by which the geosynthetic structure modifies particle trajectories, dissipates momentum, and creates distributed sheltered regions that mitigate surface wear. The findings show that geocell geometry functions as an active design parameter governing abrasion performance, shifting the role of geocells from passive formwork to an engineered geosynthetic layer controlling interface-driven degradation. In addition to durability gains, observed reductions in equipment usage, fuel demand, and maintenance needs highlight the sustainability advantages associated with modular geosynthetic systems. The proposed methodology and mechanistic interpretation provide a framework for evaluating and designing concrete-filled geocells in hydraulic and erosion-control applications where long-term resistance to abrasive conditions is critical.