A new test procedure is described for evaluating the performanceof a prefabricated drainage system (pds) when subjected to loading that is other than normal to the plane of the core. A pds is an in-plane drain specifically manufactured from polymer materials for subsurface drainage applications, in particular, highway edge drains. A pds is commonly manufactured from a preformed semirigid polymer coreand covered with a geotextile. The major function of the core is totransport water. However, the core must also provide support for the geotextile filter and must resist installation and in-service stress and deformation in order to maintain the design drainage function. One of the factors that can adversely affect the performance of the pds edge drain is eccentricity of loading or loading occurring at angles other than those normal to the core. Angled loading can adversely affect the compressive failure or collapse of the core, especially a core that is direction dependent. The test apparatus and procedures used in this study are described and results are illustrated for eccentric testing carried out on four popular types of pds highway edge drains. This type of testing is also suitable for evaluating the eccentric loading that would occur on other types of pds applications such as sloped walls, vertical or sloped cutoffs, embankments, or landfill side slopes. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1329, Geocomposite pavement drain systems 1991
Abstract