GEOSYNTHETICS – Glossary & Description

K. Rajagopal
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
IIT Madras, Chennai 600 036
e-mail: gopalkr@iitm.ac.in
The word Geosynthetics is a generic term encompassing all the polymeric (synthetic or
natural) materials used in contact with soil/rock and/or any other geotechnical material in
civil engineering applications. These products are used for several purposes in civil
engineering applications like reinforcement, drainage, filtration, erosion control, etc. The
geosynthetics includes a broad range of products which are as follows:

 Geotextiles
 Geogrids
 Geonets
 Geomembranes
 Geofoams
 Geocomposites
 Geocells
 Geopipes
 Geotubes
 Geobar
 Geomat
 Geomesh
 Geofabric
 Geonatural
 Geostrip
 Geomatress
 Electrokinetic geosynthetic
 Geosynthetic clay liner.
The above list may not be complete as there are several new products introduced into the
market very frequently.
TERMINOLOGY AND DESCRIPTION of different geosynthetics:
Geotextile is a sheet like material made up of natural or synthetic fibres. These sheets are
flexible and permeable. It has an appearance similar to a regular fabric. Classification of
geotextiles based on the manufacturing process is as follows:
• Woven geotextiles- these are made from yarns by a conventional weaving process with a
regular textile structure.
 Woven coir geotextile and a nonwoven jute geotextile

• Non-woven geotextiles- these are made from directionally or randomly oriented fibres in a
loose web by bonding with partial melting, needle punching or chemical bonding agents
like glue, rubber, latex, cellulose derivative, etc.

Non-woven needle punched geotextiles

• Knitted geotextiles- these are produced by interloping one or more yarns together.
• Stitch-bonded geotextiles- these are formed by the stitching together of fibres or yarns.
Geogrids are polymeric, mesh like planar products formed by ribs which are joined at the
junction in the same plane. The opening between the longitudinal and transverse ribs are
called apertures, are large enough to create interlocking with the surrounding soil particles.
The ribs are linked by extrusion, bonding or interlacing.
The extruded geogrids (also called as stretched grids) are classified into two categories based
on the direction of stretching during the manufacturing process.
• Uniaxial geogrids- these are made by stretching the punched polymer sheets in
longitudinal direction, the tensile strength in the longitudinal direction is higher than in
the transverse direction.
• Biaxial geogrids- these are made by stretching the punched polymer sheets in both the
longitudinal and the transverse direction, and, therefore possess considerable strength in
both the principal directions.
 Uniaxial stretched geogrid

Boulder net to stabilize loose boulders

Geonets are thick planar products consisting of ribs in different direction at two different
planes. The apertures are in the shape of diamond. Geonets are also termed as geospacers.

Geonet (made by extrusion process)

Geomembrane is an impermeable sheet made up of one or more synthetic materials. They are
flexible in nature. Due to its extremely high impermeability, it is used as a fluid barrier.

Smooth and rough textured geomembrane sheets

Geocomposites are materials, which are made of two or more combinations of geosynthetics
to meet advantages of both materials. Examples: Geotextile-geonet, geotextile-geogrid,
prefabricated vertical drains(PVD) ,Geosynthetic clay liners, pavement overlays, etc.
• Geosynthetic clay liner is a geocomposite. In this the bentonite clay layer is sanwitched
between thick non-woven geotextiles.Geotextile-encased GCLs are stitched or needle
punched through the bentonite core to give higher shear resistance. When hydrated they
are effective as a barrier. Often used in conjunction with geomembranes.
• Prefabricated vertical drains are made of corrugated plastic sheets surrounded by
geotextile filters used as a drain in soft clays to accelerate the consolidation process.
 Geogrid-geotextile composite geosynthetic clay liner

Drainage composites for used behind retaining walls

Drainage medium made of polystyrene beads & shredded rubber tyres

Geocell is a three dimensional honeycombed structure formed by joining the polymeric sheet
strips in a cellular manner. The geocells can be collapsed like an accordion during transport
and stretched during the installation. The pockets of the geocells are filled with granular
materials to form a semi-rigid base to support load bearing elements like flexible roads,
container yards, etc. The geocells help in spreading the applied loads over a large area and
provide excellent support even under cyclic loads.
 Geocell without perforations geocell with perforations

Geopipes are perforated or solid-wall polymeric pipes placed beneath the ground surface and
backfilled.
Geofoam are low density network of closed, gas filled cells made by expansion of
polystyrene foam.
Geotube is an oval shaped large size tube made of geotextile fabric and filled with sediment
used for shoreline protection and dewatering process.
Geobar is a polymeric material in the form of a bar.
Geoblanket is a permeable blanket which is biodegradable in nature. It is used in slopes
where vegetation is possible thereby protecting the slopes.

Pre-seeded coir mat for erosion control applications

Electrokinetic geosynthetic is a mesh made from a metal wire stringer coated in a conductive
polymer; it resembles a reinforcing geomesh, and is available also in the form of sheets, strips
or tubes. In addition to electrical conduction it also provides drainage, filtration, and
reinforcement functions.
Geomat is a three dimensional, polymeric structured made of bonded filaments which are
permeable. Used as reinforcement to roots of grass and small plants which provides in turn
permanent erosion control.
 Crimped mesh for erosion control
Geomatress is a three dimensional, permeable geosynthetic structure which is filled with soil
or concrete after placing over a soil layer to prevent erosion.
Geostrip is a strip of polymeric material.

FUNCTIONS AND APPLICATIONS

Basic functions of Geosynthetics are,
 Barrier - some of the Geosynthetics are impermeable in nature thus they act as
barrier to fluids or gases. For example, geomembrane, geosynthetic clay liner, thin
film geotextile composites and field coated geotextiles are used as fluid barrier to
restrict flow of liquids or gases. This function is also used in encapsulation of
swelling soils, asphalt pavement overlays and waste containment.
 Drainage-some geosynthetics allow in plane flow of fluid which serves the function
as drains. For example Prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) have been used to
accelerate the rate of consolidation of soft clays under foundations. Due to this
function geosynthetics are used as pavement edge drains, slope interceptor drains, and
abutment and retaining wall drains.
 Surficial erosion control- soil erosion caused by rainfall and runoff on slopes are
reduced by providing either temporary geosynthetics or permanent light weight
geomat.
 Filtration – geosynthetics allow only fluids to pass across them this function helps in
filtration. For example geotextiles prevents migration of soil particles in drains.
 Protection- geosynthetic is used as a localised stress reduction layer to prevent
damage to a given surface or layer. This action is termed as protection function.
 Reinforcement – the major function of geosynthetics is to increase the strength of
soil mass by its inclusion and thus it maintains the stability of soil mass, which is
called reinforcement. As a reinforcement, geosynthetic reinforcement layer takes the
tensile load. Geosynthetics as reinforcement enables the embankments to be
constructed over soft clays and to build embankments with steeper slopes.
 Separation -The geosynthetic are used to separate two layers of soil that have
different particle size distributions. For example, geotextiles are used to prevent road
base materials from penetrating into soft underlying soft subgrade soils, thus
maintaining design thickness and roadway integrity. Separators also help to prevent
fine grained subgrade soils from being pumped into permeable granular road bases.
 Table 1: Functions served by different geosynthetics
Functions served by the geosynthetic
Type of
Erosion
geosynthetic Barrier Drainage Filtration Protection Reinforcement Separation
control
Woven
√ √ √
Geotextile
Non-woven
√ √ √ √ √
Geotextile
Geogrid √
Geonet √ √
Geomembrane √
Geocell √ √
Geocomposite √ √ √ √ √ √ √
Geopipes √
Geofoam √ √

Some Common Types of polymers used for geosynthetics

Polyethylene (PE) – used for manufacture of geotextiles, geomembranes, geogrids, geopipes,
geonets, geocomposites
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) – geomembranes, geopipes, geocomposites
Polyester (PET) – geotextiles & geogrids
Polypropylene (PP) – geotextiles, geomembranes, geogrids, geocomposites
Polystyrene (PS) – geocomposites, geofoam

Standard Graphical Illustrations for Different Geosynthetics:

NAME SYMBOL GRAPHICAL
REPRESENTAITION
Geotextile GTX
Geomembrane GMB
Geobar GBA
Geoblanket GBL
Geocomposite drain with geotextile GCD
on both sides
Geocell GCE
Geocomposite clay liner GCL
Surficial geosynthetic erosion control GEC
Electro-kinetic geosynthetic GEK
Geogrid GGR
Geomat GMA
Geomattress GMT
Geonet GNT
Geospacer GSP
Geostrip GST