Geotextiles

These products are engineered to provide cost-effective solutions to meet specific design requirements for separation, reinforcement, filtration, drainage, and protection applications.

Although engineers have developed numerous applications for geotextiles, there are five major functions: separation, reinforcement, filtration, drainage, and protection. The major geotextile classifications are woven, nonwoven, and knitted. Generally, woven fabrics exhibit high tensile strength, high modulus, and low elongation. Needle-punched nonwoven fabrics typically have high permeability as a result of high porosity, and conformability because of their high elongation characteristics. Thermally-spun, bonded, nonwoven fabrics typically have high modulus, compared to needlepunched nonwoven fabrics, and high conformability. Depending on the manufacturing process, knitted geotextiles can offer high tensile strength and elasticity.

Geotextiles are available in a variety of structures and polymer compositions designed to meet a wide range of applications. It is important that all geotextiles be composed of strong, durable, chemically inert polymeric materials that are resistant to the effects of site-specific ground conditions, weather, and aging.

In permanent installations, long-term material performance is a result of the polymer structure’s durability. Depending on the application, geotextiles may have other survivability requirements, such as creep resistance and resistance to temperature and/or ultraviolet exposure.