Geotextiles and its applications in

foundations

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 Geotextiles
• Geotextile is defined as: planar, permeable, polymeric (synthetic or natural)
textile material, which may be nonwoven, knitted or woven, used in contact
with soil and other materials in geotechnical and civil engineering
applications

• Geotextiles are continuous sheets of woven, nonwoven, knitted or stitch-

bonded fibres or yarns.

• The sheets are flexible and permeable and generally have the appearance
of a fabric.
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• Geotextiles are made up of polymers such as polyester or polypropylene.

• They are divided into 3 categories on the basis of the way they are
prepared :
1) Woven Fabric Geotextiles
2) Non-Woven Geotextiles
3) Knitted Geotextiles

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Types of Geotextiles

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Woven Geotextiles

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Nonwoven Geotextiles (needle punched/thermally bonded)

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Knitted Geotextiles

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 Functions of geotextiles

• Filtration

• Drainage,

• Separation

• Reinforcement

• Erosion control applications

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 Classification of Properties of Geotextiles
Classification Properties
Physical properties Specific gravity, mass per unit area, thickness and
stiffness.
Compressibility, Tensile strength, Seam strength, Fatigue
Mechanical properties Strength, Burst Strength, Tear, Impact, Puncture, Friction and
pullout
Permeability, porosity, percent open area, Apparent
Hydraulic properties
opening size, gradient ratio

Installation, creep, Stress relaxation, Stress rupture,

Endurance properties
Abrasion, Clogging,
Ultra violet resistance, Temperature, Oxidation, Chemical,
Degradation properties
Hydrolytic, Biological, Radioactive

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 Uses of Geotextile in Construction

Road Work

• Geotextiles are an efficient effective and

economic method of solving most of the
geotechnical problems in roads

• Geotextiles are widely used in the

construction of the road.

• It reinforces the soil by adding tensile

strength to it.

• It is used as a rapid de-watering layer in

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the roadbed.
Railway Works

• The woven fabrics or the non-woven

ones are used to separate the soil from
the sub-soil without impeding the
groundwater circulation where the
ground is unstable.

• Enveloping individual layers with fabric

prevents the material from wandering off
sideways due to shocks and vibrations
from running trains.
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Drainage

• The use of geotextiles to filter the soil and a

more or less single size granular material to
transport water is increasingly seen as a
technically and commercially viable
alternative to the conventional systems.

• Geotextiles perform the filtering mechanism

for drainages in earth dams, in roads and
highways, in reservoirs, behind retaining
walls, deep drainage trenches, and
agriculture. 12
• River, Canals and Coastal Works

• Geotextiles protect river banks from

erosion due to currents or lapping.

• When used in conjunction with

natural or artificial enrockments,
they act as a filter.

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