The property of the contact surface between geosynthetics and soil directly affects the whole structure＇s stability. The interface property is one of the most important indices for the reinforced structure. Systematic direct-shear tests with large direct-shear apparatus are carded out for geobelt reinforced clay under different normal stresses and water content. A reinforcement-sand-clay layer system improving the interface behavior greatly is designed. The stress-strain relationship is investigated on the basis of the experimental results. The results show that with the increase of the normal stress, the shear strength between the clay and the reinforcement increases nonlinearly, and with the increase of the water content, the friction coefficient between the clay and the reinforcement decreases dramatically and the cohesion between the clay and the polypropylene geobelt increases initially, then decreases. There is an optimal value for the water content between the clay and the polypropylene geobelt, which is 2% lower than the optimal water content of clay compaction. This reinforcement-sand-clay layer system improves the shear strength of the interface remarkably. Therefore, the clay-sand-reinforcement layer system is a rather good design for practical use in reinforcement engineering.
