The Importance of Geotextiles and Geofabrics in Construction Projects
Geotextiles are crucial components of many construction projects for many reasons.
Improving Soil Conditions
When soil is inadequate for building in its current state, geofabrics can help improve conditions. These synthetic textiles can add tensile and shear strength to the surface or subgrade. They also offer load support while limiting movement and material mixing.
For example, using geotextiles to separate finer soil from aggregates in road construction helps add more stability and strength to the road’s base materials. This extra material layer may also provide long-term benefits in road performance and durability.
Reducing the Likelihood of Erosion
Erosion can occur rapidly when exposed soil meets heavy winds and rains. Geotextiles help areas drain effectively and keep soil in its place.
Coastal construction, drainage trenches and roadways are typical applications for nonwoven geofabrics to safeguard against erosion by corralling soils without hampering the water flow.
Conserving Resources
Geotextiles positively impact the environment by helping preserve soil and improve its characteristics. They also offer an affordable solution for construction challenges, generally reducing overall project costs.
In other applications, geotextiles are actively helping safeguard clam beds from predators. Preserving shellfish beds also helps manage shoreline erosion and provides a safe habitat for young fish.
Types of Geotextiles and Geofabrics
Geotextile material generally falls into three categories:
- Woven: Woven geotextiles are highly common and include double sets of interlocked parallel threads. The manufacturing process is similar to that of other woven soft goods, and the tight weave generally offers additional weight support.
- Nonwoven: This geofabric style results from shorter staple fibers or continuous yarn strands. Manufacturers typically bond the material together with thermal, mechanical or chemical processes, sometimes using a combination of these methods.
- Knit: Manufacturers create a knitted geotextile fabric with a series of interlocked yarn loops. This manufacturing process often incorporates another technique, such as weaving, to achieve the desired texture.
In addition to the textural variations, geofabrics come in a range of designs for different applications. These include:
- Geogrids: These commonly feature broader and more open meshwork and play a key role in soil reinforcement.
- Geonets: Geonets boast a tighter mesh-like structure and frequently appear in drainage projects.
- Geomembranes: These are typically continuous and impermeable sheets serving as a separation liner, such as under highways, to help manage potential damage from de-icing methods.
- Geocells: Geocell material features a flexible diamond-shaped pattern and helps manage soil shift beneath roadways, driveways and more.
- Geotextile tubes: These are generally long hollow cylinders filled with sand or other materials to help stop coastal erosion or serve as a breakwater.
Typical Uses Of Geotextiles Include:
- Separation: Separation of materials is needed when soil or dense graded aggregate is used over, or in contact with, an open-graded stone. A geotextile at the interface of dissimilar materials prevents the finer particles from migrating into the void spaces of the open-graded stone. Both woven and nonwoven geotextiles are used in this application.
- Reinforcement: Soils typically have little or no tensile strength. Geotextiles used for reinforcement have high tensile strengths that can improve the strength of the soil. Typical applications include construction over soft soils, strengthening of soil subgrades below pavements and in the construction of geotextile reinforced slopes. Reinforcing geotextiles are typically woven.
- Filtration: Geotextiles are also used to filter water much in the same way as a coffee filter allows coffee to flow through the filter while holding back the coffee grounds. Instead of coffee grounds, a geotextile holds back soil particles while allowing water to pass through the geotextile. A typical filtration application is wrapping open-graded stone for a drain line or French drain with a geotextile to hold back the soil particles and allow water to be conveyed to the drain. Since soils have different particle sizes, it’s important to specify a geotextile filter for the soils being retained so that water flows, but soil particles do not clog the geotextile over time. Both woven and nonwoven geotextiles are used in this application.
- Drainage: Drainage can be accomplished with certain geotextiles that provide a path for water to flow within the plane of the geotextile. Certain geotextiles may be used for drainage as long as planar flow is relatively small. Applications may include landfill drainage, chimney drains in dams, or drainage of groundwater from fine-grained soils subjected to consolidation surcharging. Nonwoven fabrics are most often used in drainage applications.
- Sealing: Nonwoven geotextile fabric can combine with water-resisting substances like asphalt to help make them impervious to water flow. The result is a barrier capable of helping reduce water and soil contamination and lessening the likelihood of evaporation.
The Importance of Geotextiles and Geofabrics in Construction Projects
Geotextiles are crucial components of many construction projects for many reasons.
Improving Soil Conditions
When soil is inadequate for building in its current state, geofabrics can help improve conditions. These synthetic textiles can add tensile and shear strength to the surface or subgrade. They also offer load support while limiting movement and material mixing.
For example, using geotextiles to separate finer soil from aggregates in road construction helps add more stability and strength to the road’s base materials. This extra material layer may also provide long-term benefits in road performance and durability.
Reducing the Likelihood of Erosion
Erosion can occur rapidly when exposed soil meets heavy winds and rains. Geotextiles help areas drain effectively and keep soil in its place.
Coastal construction, drainage trenches and roadways are typical applications for nonwoven geofabrics to safeguard against erosion by corralling soils without hampering the water flow.
Conserving Resources
Geotextiles positively impact the environment by helping preserve soil and improve its characteristics. They also offer an affordable solution for construction challenges, generally reducing overall project costs.
In other applications, geotextiles are actively helping safeguard clam beds from predators. Preserving shellfish beds also helps manage shoreline erosion and provides a safe habitat for young fish.
Types of Geotextiles and Geofabrics
Geotextile material generally falls into three categories:
- Woven: Woven geotextiles are highly common and include double sets of interlocked parallel threads. The manufacturing process is similar to that of other woven soft goods, and the tight weave generally offers additional weight support.
- Nonwoven: This geofabric style results from shorter staple fibers or continuous yarn strands. Manufacturers typically bond the material together with thermal, mechanical or chemical processes, sometimes using a combination of these methods.
- Knit: Manufacturers create a knitted geotextile fabric with a series of interlocked yarn loops. This manufacturing process often incorporates another technique, such as weaving, to achieve the desired texture.
In addition to the textural variations, geofabrics come in a range of designs for different applications. These include:
- Geogrids: These commonly feature broader and more open meshwork and play a key role in soil reinforcement.
- Geonets: Geonets boast a tighter mesh-like structure and frequently appear in drainage projects.
- Geomembranes: These are typically continuous and impermeable sheets serving as a separation liner, such as under highways, to help manage potential damage from de-icing methods.
- Geocells: Geocell material features a flexible diamond-shaped pattern and helps manage soil shift beneath roadways, driveways and more.
- Geotextile tubes: These are generally long hollow cylinders filled with sand or other materials to help stop coastal erosion or serve as a breakwater.
Typical Uses Of Geotextiles Include:
- Separation: Separation of materials is needed when soil or dense graded aggregate is used over, or in contact with, an open-graded stone. A geotextile at the interface of dissimilar materials prevents the finer particles from migrating into the void spaces of the open-graded stone. Both woven and nonwoven geotextiles are used in this application.
- Reinforcement: Soils typically have little or no tensile strength. Geotextiles used for reinforcement have high tensile strengths that can improve the strength of the soil. Typical applications include construction over soft soils, strengthening of soil subgrades below pavements and in the construction of geotextile reinforced slopes. Reinforcing geotextiles are typically woven.
- Filtration: Geotextiles are also used to filter water much in the same way as a coffee filter allows coffee to flow through the filter while holding back the coffee grounds. Instead of coffee grounds, a geotextile holds back soil particles while allowing water to pass through the geotextile. A typical filtration application is wrapping open-graded stone for a drain line or French drain with a geotextile to hold back the soil particles and allow water to be conveyed to the drain. Since soils have different particle sizes, it’s important to specify a geotextile filter for the soils being retained so that water flows, but soil particles do not clog the geotextile over time. Both woven and nonwoven geotextiles are used in this application.
- Drainage: Drainage can be accomplished with certain geotextiles that provide a path for water to flow within the plane of the geotextile. Certain geotextiles may be used for drainage as long as planar flow is relatively small. Applications may include landfill drainage, chimney drains in dams, or drainage of groundwater from fine-grained soils subjected to consolidation surcharging. Nonwoven fabrics are most often used in drainage applications.
- Sealing: Nonwoven geotextile fabric can combine with water-resisting substances like asphalt to help make them impervious to water flow. The result is a barrier capable of helping reduce water and soil contamination and lessening the likelihood of evaporation.
