Geotextiles are synthetic , permeable materials that are used for civil construction projects to improve the characteristics of soil. Geotextiles can make soils that are poor more suitable for construction because they can remove, filter, and strengthen soils, and protect them from erosion.
Geotextiles can be used in a variety of infrastructure projects like roads harbors, landfills, drainage structures, and many other civil engineering projects.
Types of Geotextiles
Geotextiles are composed of polymers like polypropylene and polyester. They fall into three types depending on their manufacturing method they are:
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Woven fabric
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Nonwoven fabric
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Knitted fabric
Other geosynthetics include geonets, geocells, geomembranes, geogrids, etc.
Woven Geotextiles tend to be the most popular and their production methods are like those used for clothing textiles. Geotextile in ghana of this kind are composed of two fibers, or yarns.
Geotextiles made of nonwoven materials are composed of long staple yarns, or continuous filaments. They are attached using mechanical, chemical or thermal techniques or a combination of methods.
Geotextiles knittedare created by interlocking number of yarn loops. They are created by combining knitting techniques with other techniques like weaving.
Main Functions of Geotextiles
Geotextiles are employed to improve the soil's properties prior to building pipelines, embankments, roads as well as earth-retaining constructions. Geotextiles serve a variety of purposes including drainage, filtration, reinforcement cushions, waterproofing, and separation.
Geotextile Separation
This is the principal reason that geotextiles are employed in construction. When a geotextile is placed between two soils, it can prevent the intermixing of soils when water is introduced into the layer of soil. This way, the essential soil properties can be preserved. By segregating fine subgrade soil from aggregates, as in the case with road construction, the geotextile retains all drainage qualities and the strength that the soil base materials provide.
Geotextiles with specific properties in terms of thickness and permeability to avoid soil contamination as well as to permit water flow without damaging the structural quality. Geotextiles have a variety of applications. include:
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Between the landfills and stones base courses
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Between base and subgrade the unpaved and paved roads
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Between subgrade in railroads
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Between geomembranes and between sand drainage layers
Read: Geotextiles in Construction a complete guide you must know
