Unit-1

Geotextiles
Geotextiles are polymer fabrics used in the construction of roads, drains, harbour works, and
breakwaters, and for land reclamation and many other civil engineering purposes .
Or
Any permeable textile material used for separating, filtration , reinforcement, protection, drainage
and stabilization process as an integral part of civil engineering structures of earth, rock or others
constructional material are called geotextile.

Advantages of Geotextiles
The geotextiles market requires bulk quantities of material. Warp-knitted weft-insertion geotextiles offer
the following advantages when compared to woven geotextiles:

1. Strength-for-strength, they are lighter than woven geotextiles using the same yarn.This makes for
easier handling and laying on site; thus transport and labour costs are less in real terms.

2. Knitted geotextiles have exceptional tear strength. Additional strength can be designed and built-in to
the weft direction such that a bi-axial high tensile, high strength warp/weft geotextile becomes a reality;
e.g. 500kNm warp and 500k Nm weft.

3. Knitted geotextiles can incorporate an additional fabric to form a true composite geotextile, the fabric
being simply knitted-in.

4. The individual yarns in the warp knitted weft-insertion geotextile are straight when incorporated, so
they are able to take-up the strain immediately on loading. Those in woven geotextiles are interlaced.

Uses Of Geotextiles
Construction of roads, drains, harbour works, and breakwaters, and for land reclamation and many other
civil engineering purposes .

Uses of geotextile
Some importance applications of geotextile are described below:

Separation
In this function, the geotextile serves to separate two dissimilarmaterials, eg, two different soils,
landfillmaterial and the native soil, stone material and subgrade soil, old and new pavement, foundation
soils and various types of walls, or one of many other similar situations. In some instances, it is
difficult to distinguish between the separation and stabilization functions because in both situations
the geotextile is serving as a separator. However, in stabilization some additional phenomena occur.

Stabilization
In this application, the natural soil on which the geotextile is placed is usually a wet, soft, compressible
material, exhibiting very little strength. By acting as a separator, the geotextile allows water from the
soft natural soil to pass from this soil into a free-draining construction soil, which in turn allows
consolidation of the natural soil to take place. As a result of the consolidation process, there is a
strength gain in the natural soil, which then provides an adequate foundation for construction to take
place.

Reinforcement
The key difference between stabilization and reinforcement is that stabilization is accomplished by
providing for drainage of water from the unstable soil, while in reinforcement the strength
characteristics (stressstrain) of the geotextile provide added strength to the whole system. Another
difference is that in stabilization the geotextile is placed on or around the area being stabilized and
thereby also acts as a separator, whereas in the reinforcement application the geotextile is placed within
the material being reinforced. This is in line with reinforcement concepts in concrete and other
materials.

Filtration
Here the prime function is to retain soil or other fine materials, while allowing water to pass through.
Again, it is seen that more than one function is being performed. If there were no drainage of water
taking place, movement, and therefore retention of the soil, would not be of concern. Part of the
mechanism by which filtration occurs is through the development of a soil filter behind the geotextile.
As the water passes through, soil is filtered out and collects behind the geotextile. As buildup
takesplace, a natural soil filter is developed.

Drainage
In the previous sections, drainage was discussed as taking place in a direction perpendicular to the
plane of the geotextile. Here, drainage parallel to the plane of the geotextile is described. The property
called transmissivity is defined as flow parallel to the plane of the geotextile. This type of flow can
occur to some extent in all geotextiles, but is best achieved in needle-punched nonwoven materials.
This class of geotextiles can be manufactured in a range of thicknesses such that this characteristic is
optimized.

Moisture_Barrier
When impregnated with an asphaltic emulsion, geotextiles become impermeable and can then be used
as moisture barriers. The primary application for this type of geotextile is in pavement rehabilitation.
Protection
Erosion of earth embankments by wave action, currents and repeated drawdown is a constant problem
requiring the use of non-erodable protection in the form of rock beaching or mattress structures. Beneath
these is placed a layer of geotextile to prevent leaching of fine material. The geotextile is easily placed,
even under water.

The Classification of Geotextiles

Geotextile:
Geotextile is a part of technical textile which is used for special purposes. Geotextiles form one of the two
largest groups of Geo synthetics. The raw material of geotextile comes from polyester, Polyamide,
Polypropylene and Polyethylene. The application of geotextile is civil engineering, coastal engineering and
also huge used of construction site. Generally geotextiles are located in the tension area to make stronger
the soil. Now I would like to discuss the classification of geotextile.

The Classification of Geotextiles:

Geotextile is divided by two ways. They are-
1. According to Time of Use
2. According to Method of Production

Jute Geotextile

1. According to Time of Use:

1st Generation:
Geotextile that were being manufactured for another purpose, such carpet or industrial sacking, but later
used for geo technical purpose are known as 1st generation geotextile.

2nd Generation:
Geotextile that were manufactured for certain geo-technical purpose, but without adopting modern
technology.

3rd Generation:
Geotextile that was manufactured, designed, and produced to meet certain end use. It is actual geo-textile.

2. According to Method of Production:

Woven:
These were produced in various types of loom. However, these were categorized as lighter geotextile and
heavier geotextile.

Heat Bonded Non-woven:

These geotextiles normally made from continuous filament fine fibers that has been laid randomly onto a
moving belt and passed through the heated roller system when a thin sheet of textile is obtained.

Needle Punched Non-woven:

These types of geo-textiles are made from a blended web of continuous or staple filament that is passed
through bank of maple reciprocating bearded needles. In case of needle punched non-woven geotextile,
the GSM can be found upto 2000 which is too higher than heat bonded non-woven geo-textiles.

Knitted Geo-textiles:
Knitted geotextiles are normally restricted to warp knitting. These are normally used fine filtration, soil
reinforcing grids etc.

Conclusion:
Thus, the need of textile goods in the fields mentioned above has been stressed and their role in the
reduced usage other material rather than textile and textiles prove to be flexible in their suitability for
specific geographical locations. So now it is our turn, to carefully and beautiful shape this infant technology,
to contribute to the nations economy.

Important Properties/Characteristics of Geotextiles:

There are three main properties which are required and specified for a geotextile are its
mechanical responses, filtration ability and chemical resistance.These are the properties
that produce the required working effect. They are all developed from the combination of
the physical form of the polymer fibers, their textile construction and the polymer chemical
characteristics. For example, the mechanical response of a geotextile will depend upon the
orientation and regularity of the fibers as well as the type of polymer from which it is made.
Also, the chemical resistance of a geotextile will depend upon the size of the individual
component fibers in the fabric, as well as their chemical composition fine fibers with a
large specific surface area are subject to more rapid chemical attack than coarse fibers of
the same polymer.

The Characteristics of Geotextiles are Broadly Classified as:

1. Physical properties:
specific gravity
weight
thickness
stiffness
density .
2. Mechanical properties:
tenacity
tensile strength
bursting strength
drapability
compatibility
flexibility
 tearing strength
frictional resistance
3. Hydraulic properties:
porosity
permeability
permittivity
transitivity
turbidity /soil retention
filtration length etc.
4. Degradation properties:
biodegradation
hydrolytic degradation
photo degradation
chemical degradation
mechanical degradation
other degradation occurring due to attack of rodent, termite etc.
5. Endurance properties:
elongation
abrasion resistance
clogging length and flow etc.
What are Geosynthetics?
Generally,geosynthetic refers to a product that is made from polymeric material and is applied as a
key component in a structure or system to achieve engineering purposes. The prefix geo suggests
whose application has to do with soil, rock, and/or earth. There are some basic functions of
geosynthetics namely separation, reinforcement, filtration, drainage, containment, barrier, surface
erosion control, and protection; any geosynthetic product is expected to provide one or more of the
functions. Applications of geosynthetics are mostly found in civil, transportation, geotechnical,
environmental, hydraulics, marine, and private development engineering including roads, railroads,
embankment, retaining walls, canals, erosion control, waste landfill, land reclamation, breakwaters,
jetties, groins, revetments, aquaculture, agriculture, and mining. However, with the development of
related products, the applicable range of geosynthetics can extend to areas other than the above
mentioned.

Geogrids
Geogrids are plastics formed into a very open, grid-like configuration i.e., with large apertures
between individual ribs in the machine and cross machine directions. Geogrids are formed in various
ways: (1) stretched in one or two directions for improved physical properties, (2) made on weaving or
knitting machinery by standard and well-established methods, or (3) made by bonding rods or straps
together. There are many application areas, however, and they function almost exclusively as
reinforcement materials.
Geotextiles
Geotextiles are indeed textiles in the traditional sense, but they consist of synthetic fibers rather than
natural ones such as cotton, wool, or silk. Thus biodegradation and subsequent short lifetime is not a
problem. These synthetic fibers are made into flexible, porous fabrics by standard weaving machinery or
are matted together in a random nonwoven manner. Some are also knitted. The major point is that
geotextiles are porous to liquid flow across their manufactured plane and also within their thickness, but
to a widely varying degree. There are at least 100 specific application areas for geotextiles that have
been developed; however, the fabric always performs at least one of four discrete functions: separation,
reinforcement, filtration, and/or drainage.

Geonets
Geonets are formed by a continuous extrusion of parallel sets of polymeric ribs at acute angles to one
another. When the ribs are opened, relatively large apertures are formed into a netlike configuration.
Their design function is completely within the drainage area where they are used to convey liquids of all
types.

Geomembranes
Geomembranes are relatively thin, impervious sheets of polymeric material used primarily for linings
and covers of liquid or solid storage facilities. This includes all types of landfills, reservoirs, canals, and
other containment facilities. Thus the primary function is always containment as a liquid or vapor barrier
or both. The range of applications, however, is great, and in addition to the environmental area,
applications are rapidly growing in geotechnical, transportation, hydraulic, and private development
engineering.

Geosynthetic Clay Liners

Geosynthetic clay liners (GCL) are a juxtaposition of polymer and natural soil materials. They are rolls of
factory-fabricated thin layers of bentonite clay sandwiched between two geotextiles or bonded to a
geomembrane. Structural integrity of the composite is obtained by needle-punching, stitching, or
physical bonding. GCLs are used as a composite component beneath a geomembrane or by themselves
in environmental and containment applications as well as in transportation, geotechnical, hydraulic, and
various private development applications.
Geopipe
Geopipe is included here because of an obvious awareness that geopipe is being used in all aspects of
geotechnical, transportation, environmental, hydraulic, and private development engineering.

Geofoam
Geofoam is a product created by polymeric expansion process resulting in a foam that consists of
many closed but gas-filled cells. The skeletal nature of the cell walls is the unexpanded polymeric
material. The resulting product is generally in the form of large, but extremely light, blocks that are
stacked side-by-side, providing lightweight fill in numerous applications. Although the primary function
is dictated by the application, separation is always a consideration and geofoam will be included in this
category rather than creating a separate one.

Geocomposites
Geocomposites consist of a combination of geotextiles, geogrids, geonets, and/or geomembranes in a
factory-fabricated unit. Also, any one of these four materials can be combined with another synthetic
material (e.g., deformed plastic sheets or steel cables) or with soil. For example, a geonet with
geotextiles on both surfaces and a GCL consisting of a geotextile/bentonite/geotextile sandwich are
both geocomposites. This exciting area brings out the best creative efforts of the engineer,
manufacturer, and contractor. The application areas are numerous and growing steadily. They
encompass the entire range of functions previously listed for geosynthetics: separation, reinforcement,
filtration, drainage, and containment.

WHAT ARE THE 5 MAIN FUNCTIONS OF

GEOTEXTILES?
Geotextiles are a kind of geosynthetic material that has become more and more popular over the past fifteen

years. The material owes its success in more than 80 applications to a large extent to its resistance to

biodegradation. Geotextiles are indeed textiles, however not in the traditional sense of the word. They are no

natural materials like cotton, wool or silk. Geotextiles are synthetic fibers that can be made into a flexible,

porous, nonwoven needlefelt fabric. They are porous to water flow, to a varying degree.

Because of this wide variety, they can be applied in at least five different ways:
1. Separation

Geotextiles will prevent two soil layers of different particle sizes from mixing with each other, as is illustrated

the image below.

2. Drainage

Geotextiles will efficiently collect superfluous water from structures, such as rainwater or surplus water, from

the soil and discharge it.

3. Filtration

Geotextiles are an ideal interface for reverse filtration in the soil adjacent to the geotextile. In all soils water

allows fine particles to be moved. Part of these particles will be halted at the filter interface; some will be

halted within the filter itself while the rest will pass into the drain. The complex needle-punched structure of

the geotextile enables the retention of fine particles without reducing the permeability of the drain.

4. Reinforcement

Heavy geotextiles can be used to reinforce earth structures by means of fill materials. Thanks to their high

soil fabric friction coefficient and high tensile strength, they are an ideal reinforcement solution.

5. Protection

Geotextiles are an ideal protection from erosion of earth embankments by wave action, currents or repeated

drawdown. A layer of geotextiles can be placed so as to prevent leaching of fine material. They can be used

for rock beaching or as mattress structures. They can even easily be placed under water.

Applications of Geo Textiles in Road Construction:

Geotextiles help prevent the erosion of soil but allows the water to drain off. The biggest enemy of road
structure is water because presence of excess water makes undesirable changes to the property of road
materials, property known as consistency. The layer of materials like sub-grade, sub-base, base course
change their property and thus change the load bearing capacity, so it is necessary to drain off the water but
still we want to hold the soil together cause we dont want our road to erode when there is heavy rainfall. In
the interaction between the retention walls and the fill/cut side of road we use geotextiles. In early days,
usually in earthen road even when there was slight rainfall the road used to get muddy and changed its shape
and width so it is necessary that we use geotextiles to prevent this from happening.
Typical applications of geotextiles are:

Retaining walls
Steep slopes
Landslide repairs
Soft-soil embankments
Embankments on very soft soils, combined with vertical drains
Roadway reinforcement
Reinforcement under tramways or railway ballast
Erosion control in sea embankments and waterworks slopes or beds
Reinforcement of foundation layers
Reinforcement or bridging over potential weak zones, voids or cavities Piled
embankments with basal reinforcement.

Link for applications ( http://www.tikp.co.uk/knowledge/market-

sectors/geotextiles/applications/ )

Selection of Fiber for Geotextiles | Fibers Used in Geotextiles

Selection of Fiber for Geotextiles:
Different fibers from both natural as well as synthetic category can be used as geotextiles for various
applications.

Natural Fibers:
Natural fibers in the form of paper strips, jute nets, wood shavings or wool mulch are being used asgeotextiles.
In certain soil reinforcement applications, geotextiles have to serve for more than 100 years. But bio-degradable
natural geotextiles are deliberately manufactured to have relatively short period of life. They are generally used
for prevention of soil erosion until vegetation can become properly established on the ground surface. The
commonly used natural fibers are :

1. Ramie
2. Jute

Ramie:
These are subtropical bast fibers, which are obtained from their plants 5 to 6 times a year. The fibers have silky
luster and have white appearance even in the unbleached condition. They constitute of pure cellulose and
possess highest tenacity among all plant fibers.

Ramie fiber

Jute:
This is a versatile vegetable fiber which is biodegradable and has the ability to mix with the soil and serve as a
nutrient for vegetation. Their quick biodegradability becomes weakness for their use as ageotextile. However,
their life span can be extended even up to 20 years through different treatments and blendings. Thus, it is
possible to manufacture designed biodegradable jute geotextile, havingspecific tenacity, porosity,
permeability, transmissibility according to need and location specificity. Soil, soil composition, water,
water quality, water flow, landscape etc. physical situation determines the application and choice of what kind
of jute geotextiles should be used. In contrast to synthetic geotextiles, though jute geotextileas are less durable
but they also have some advantages in certain area to be used particularly in agro-mulching and similar area to
where quick consolidation are to take place. For erosion control and rural road considerations, soil protection
from natural and seasonal degradation caused by rain, water, monsoon, wind and cold weather are very
important parameters. Jute geotextiles, as separator, reinforcing and drainage activities, along with topsoil
erosion in shoulder and cracking are used quite satisfactorily. Furthermore, after degradation of jute
geotextiles, lignomass is formed, which increases the soil organic content, fertility, texture and also enhance
vegetativegrowth with further consolidation and stability of soil.

jute fiber

Synthetic Fibres:
The four main synthetic polymers most widely used as the raw material for geotextiles are polyester,
polyamide, polyethylene and polypropylene. The oldest of these is polyethylene which was discoveredin 1931
by ICI. Another group of polymers with a long production history is the polyamide family, the first of which
was discovered in 1935. The next oldest of the four main polymer families relevant to geotextile manufacture is
polyester, which was announced in 1941. The most recent polymer family relevant to geotextiles to
be developed was polypropylene, which was discovered in 1954. The commonly used natural fibers are :
1. Poly amides
2. Polyesters
3. Polyethylene
4. Polypropylene
5. Polyvinyl chloride
6. Ethylene copolymer bitumen
7. Chlorinated poly ethylene
Poly Amides (PA):
There are two most important types of polyamides, namely Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6 but they are used very little
in geotextiles. The first one an aliphatic polyamide obtained by the polymerization ofpetroleum derivative -
caprolactam. The second type is also an aliphatic polyamide obtained by thepolymerization of a salt of adipic
acid and hexamethylene diamine. These are manufactured in the form of threads which are cut into granules.
They have more strength but less moduli than polypropyleneand polyester They are also readily prone
to hydrolysis.

Polyesters (PET):
Polyester is synthesized by polymerizing ethylene glycol with dimethyle terephthalate or with terephthalic acid.
The fiber has high strength modulus, creep resistance and general chemical inertness due too which it is more
suitable for geotextiles. It is attacked by polar solvent like benzyl alcohol, phenol, and meta-cresol. At pH
range of 7 to 10, its life span is about 50 years. It possesseshigh resistance to ultraviolet radiations. However,
the installation should be undertaken with care to avoid unnecessary exposure to light.

Polyester fiber

Polyethylene (PE):
Polyethylene can be produced in a highly crystalline form, which is an extremely important characteristic in
fiber forming polymer. Three main groups of polyethylene are Low densitypolyethylene (LDPE, density 9.2-
9.3 g/cc), Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE, density 9.20-9.45 g/cc) and High density polyethylene
(HDPE, density 9.40- 9.6 g/cc).

Polypropylene (PP):
Polypropylene is a crystalline thermoplastic produced by polymerizing propylene monomers in the presence of
stereo-specific Zeigler- Natta catalytic system. Homo-polymers and copolymers are two types of
polypropylene. Homo polymers are used for fiber and yarn applications whereas co-polymers are used for
varied industrial applications. Propylene is mainly available in granular form.

Both polyethylene and polypropylene fibers are creep prone due to their low glass transition temperature. These
polymers are purely hydrocarbons and are chemically inert. They swell by organic solvent and have excellent
resistance to diesel and lubricating oils. Soil burial studies have shown that except for low molecular weight
component present, neither HDPE nor polyethylene is attacked by micro-organisms.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC):

Polyvinyl chloride is mainly used in geo membranes and as a thermo plastic coating materials. The basic raw
materials utilized for production of PVC is vinyl chloride. PVC is available in free- flowing powder form.

Ethylene copolymer Bitumen (ECB):

Ethylene copolymer bitumen membrane has been used in civil engineering works as sealing materials. For ECB
production, the raw materials used are ethylene and butyl acrylate (together forming 50-60%) and
special bitumen (40-50%).

Chlorinated Polyethylene (CPE):

Sealing membranes based on chlorinated poly ethylene are generally manufactured from CPE mixed with
PVC or sometimes PE. The properties of CPE depend on quality of PE and degree of chlorination.