Geo Textiles : Perspective

from the Construction Sector

 Reinforcement MSE

Geo Drains Geo Separations

Geotextile Applications in Roads

ASTM D4439 defined a geotextile as follows

Geotextile : A permeable geosynthetic comprised

solely of textiles. Geotextiles are used with
foundation, soil, rock, earth, or any other
geotechnical engineering-related material as an
integral part of a human-made product structure,
or system.

Due to the very wide range of applications and the

tremendous variety of available textiles having
widely different properties, the selection of a
particular design method or design philosophy is
a critical decision that must be made before the
actual mechanics of the design process are
initiated.
 Geotextile Functions and Mechanisms
An overview of geotextiles, alluded to many
applications falling into categories:

 Separation
 Reinforcement
 Filtration
 Drainage
 Containment

When properly identified, lead to the design-by-

function method.
Geotextile choices as available
1. Lightweight Wovens
2. Heavyweight

Wovens
3. High Flow Wovens
4. High Strength

Wovens
5. Thermally Bonded

Non-wovens
6. Needle punched Nonwovens
 Geotextile Functions and Mechanisms

Separation
Bituminious
Courses
Thickness
Designed

Aggregate
Bases

Geotextile
Layer

Subgrade
 Geotextile Functions and Mechanisms

Filtration and Drainage

Bituminious Courses

Aggregate Bases

Geotextile Layer

Aggregate Drainage
Layer

Subgrade
 Geotextile Functions and Mechanisms
Reinforcement
This is the synergistic improvement in the total
system strength created by the introduction of a
geotextile into a soil and developed primarily
through the following three mechanisms:

One, lateral restraint through interfacial friction

between geotextile and soil/aggregate.

Two, forcing the potential bearing surface failure

plane to develop at alternate higher shear strength
surface.

And three, membrane type of support of the wheel

loads.
 Geotextile Functions and Mechanisms

Sealing Function

New Overlay
with Paving Fabric
Pavement Crack

Reflective Crack
without Paving Fabric

Old Pavement

Base Course
 Major Applications of Geotextiles
Separation of Dissimilar Materials

 Between subgrade and stone base in paved roads

and airfields
 Between landfills and stone base courses
 Between geomembranes and soil drainage layers
 Between foundation and embankment soils for
surcharge loads
 Between foundation and embankment soils for
roadway fills
 Between foundation and encapsulated soil layers
 Between foundation soils and rigid retaining walls
 Between slopes and downstream stability berms
 Beneath precast blocks and panels for aesthetic
paving e.g. hardscaping
 Major Applications of Geotextiles
Separation of Dissimilar materials

 Between drainage layers in poorly graded filter

blankets
 Between old and new asphalt layers

Reinforcement of Weak Soils and Other Materials

 To reinforce embankments
 To aid in construction of steep slopes
 As basal reinforcement over soft soils
 To bridge over cracked or jointed rock
 To create more stable side slopes due to high
frictional resistance
 Major Applications of Geotextiles

Filtration (Cross-Plane Flow)

 Beneath stone base for paved roads and airfields

 Around crushed stone surrounding under drains
 Around perforated under drain pipe
 As a flexible form for restoring scoured bridge
pier bearing capacity
 Between backfill soil and weep holes in retaining
walls
 Between backfill soil and gabions
 As a filter beneath precast blocks
 Major Applications of Geotextiles

Drainage (In-Plane Flow)

 As a drain behind a retaining wall

 As a drain at the base of retaining wall
 As a replacement for sand or wick drains
Band Drains / Prefabricated Vertical Drains (PVD)

These are geocomposites formed of a hollow cored,

geotextile wrapped drainage element (geonet) inserted
vertically into soft ground to speed up the
consolidation process.

Prefabricated Vertical Drain Installation of PVD

Band Drains / Prefabricated Vertical Drains (PVD)

Kandla Port – Ground improvement

Band drains has been adopted to increase the bearing

capacity of the site. The following parameters have
been adopted:

Scheme SBC Spacing of Preload Duration SBC after

before Band Drain Height (Days) treatment
treatment with Triangular (m) (T/m2)
(T/m2) Grid
(m)
Scheme-1 2.00 1.25 4.00 80 10.21

Scheme-2 2.00 1.50 4.00 120 10.11

Band Drains / Prefabricated Vertical Drains (PVD)