An experiment have been conducted to investigate the behavior of dredged fills on flexible containers (scale model geotextile tubes). The study was focused on the development of geotextile strain. The model geotextile tube is made of woven geotextile material. Results showed that during the dewatering stage, the tube height decreases and the tube width increases. This increases the density of the confined fill material and the tensile reaction of the tube. The compaction effect on top of the geotextile tube decreases as the tube height reduces. On the other hand, the confinement effect at the sides of the geotextile tube increases as the tensile reaction intensifies. As a result, The geotextile strain increases as the value of the coefficient of lateral pressure is increased.

The acrylic tube, referred to as geocell in this paper, is 2.19m long with an inner diameter of 280mm. Both ends of the acrylic tube were covered with permeable geotextile sheets to allow water dissipation. The dredged soil fill material is hydraulically filled into the acrylic tube in the form of soil-water mixture (slurry). Load cells oriented in the vertical and horizontal directions were installed inside the geocell to measure the horizontal and vertical pressures inside the cylindrical tube. The pressure readings are collected through a data logger and interpreted by a desktop computer. The pressure distribution inside the geocell based on the load cell readings are closely related to the theoretical Ko and Ka conditions.