Geotextiles

From Design to Applications

Robert Koerner

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780081002216
• eBook ISBN: 9780081002346
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Materials Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Geotextiles: From Design to Applications presents valuable information on the high performance fabrics used in soil separation, drainage, filtration, reinforcement, and cushioning. These polymeric materials offer solutions for geoengineering and other civil engineering specialties due to their advanced physical, mechanical, hydraulic, and endurance properties.This important book offers comprehensive coverage of the manufacture, functions, properties, designs, and applications of geotextiles. Part One begins with a chapter on the history of geotextiles, followed by chapters giving detailed reviews of the types of fabrics and their manufacturing processes, from resin type, to fiber extrusion, to textile fabrication. Part Two covers the properties, behavior, and testing of geotextiles, with Part Three focusing on applications dealing with the specific primary functions of geotextiles. In Part Four, chapters offer numerous general applications of geotextiles, including those in waste containment, marine engineering, walls/slopes, agriculture, and erosion control. Finally, the chapters of Part Five address quality control and assurance for geotextiles, and the increasingly important topic of sustainability.- Reviews the types of fabrics used for geotextiles and their manufacturing processes- Covers the properties, behavior, and testing of geotextiles- Contains detailed discussions of the primary functions of geotextiles and their wide range of applications

Part One

Geotextile development and manufacture

Outline

1. Early background and history of geotextiles

2. Geotextile resins and additives

3. Manufacturing process of geotextiles

4. Geotextiles made from natural fibres

1

Early background and history of geotextiles

R.M. Koerner Geosynthetic Institute, Folsom, PA, United States Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Abstract

This opening chapter of the book traces the origin of polymeric geotextiles from their beginnings until 1977, which was the year of the first international conference on the emerging topic held in Paris, France. After that time, geotextiles rapidly became available worldwide and the formative period was essentially concluded. Furthermore, from that year onward, books, journals, courses, magazines, societies, institutes, and many more conferences followed in rapid succession and continue to the present.

The very earliest time frame (1950s and 1960s) described in this chapter first saw the use of woven fabrics in coastal and hydraulic engineering in The Netherlands, Germany, and the United States. This was followed by the emerging use of nonwoven fabrics in several European countries (in the early 1970s), which somewhat contrasted with the further use of woven fabrics in the United States. Some other countries were also involved, and they will be noted accordingly. A major point to be made throughout these very beginning years was that besides some smaller textile companies (TenCate/Nicolon, Huesker, and Carthage-Mills), many large chemical companies (most notably ICI, Rhone-Poulenc, Chemie Linz, and Enka/AKZO in Europe and DuPont, Phillips, Amoco, and Celanese in the United States) were the “drivers” of early technology. Their sales, marketing, and technical personnel initiated many field applications. They also performed in-house research and even funded limited external research. This, in turn, spurred several faculty and consulting engineers to further explain the details and nuances of the applications being developed.

Keywords

Background; Fabrics; Geotextiles; History

1.1. Introduction

The oldest published reference to a fabric material being used in the context of a current geotextile application is that of Beckham and Mills (1935). They used a woven cotton fabric to separate and stabilize the soil subgrade of an unpaved road in South Carolina. They reported that 8 years later the fabric had degraded from soil microorganisms to the point that it could hardly be identified. Additional trials were made by the Bureau of Public Roads in several US states at about the same time with natural fabrics, but the stage was set for the use of nonbiodegradable polymer fabrics, which is the focus of this chapter. Called by various names over the subsequent decades, eg, filter fabrics, synthetic fabrics, road rugs, construction cloth, bauvlies/filtermatte (German for “construction fleece”/“filtration mat”), etc., the name of “geotextiles” (coined by J.-P. Giroud in 1985) is currently used worldwide.

The information to follow about geotextile types and their myriad applications will be taken from published papers or manufacturers’ brochures. In this regard, it is recognized that many trials were undertaken by large chemical companies, specialty manufacturers, federal and state regulatory agencies, etc., but unless they were published in reasonably accessible literature these undoubtedly noble efforts will not be included. This is not meant to diminish the respective contributions from people and/or companies that did not publish; it is merely to provide a degree of control regarding accessibility, peer review, and appreciation for the individual authors for making their contributions available. Also, the focus is on geotextile applications rather than the theory and laboratory testing that was being done at the time. This was primarily done to convince regulators, owners, and design engineers, who generally require actual field applications, to do likewise.

At the outset it should also be mentioned that others have presented overview papers on early geotextile history, including Rankilor (1981), Jones (1982), Giroud (1986), John (1987), Pilarczyk (2000), Holtz (2004), and Heerten (2015). Their information will be used and cited accordingly.

However, this review will be somewhat different from the others in that geotextile developments in Europe (initially with nonwoven fabrics) will be presented first, with developments in America (initially with woven fabrics) following. The interchange between Europe and America up until 1977 will then be described along with developments in several other countries. Almost immediately after the first international conference on construction fabrics was held in Paris, France, in 1977, these materials became “mainstreamed,” and their use continues to the present. The graph of Fig. 1.1 on early published papers indicates this trend. As mentioned, this review chapter will end at that time; the many chapters to follow will bring the technology to its current status.

Figure 1.1 Papers published with fabrics as the main topic area up to 1977. Koerner, R.M., Welsh, J.P., 1980. Construction and Geotechnical Engineering Synthetic Fabrics, J. Wiley and Sons, NY, p. 267.

1.2. Geotextiles in Europe

Heerten (2015), in his historical review about geosynthetics in general and geotextiles in particular, suggests almost parallel efforts in The Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and Denmark. The competition was indeed “harsh” and focused on different fabric types and even different polymers for the same applications. In this regard, it should be recognized that from the beginning, large chemical companies, eg, Enka/AKZO in Holland, Rhone-Poulenc in France, ICI in the United Kingdom, Chemie Linz in Austria, and DuPont in both the United Kingdom and Switzerland, became active throughout Europe with many innovative applications, sometimes even with the requisite testing and research. As will be seen, the major chemical companies were the original promoters of their products in the early days of geotextiles.

In The Netherlands, John (1987) reported that geotextiles were first used in 1956. This stems directly from the need to find innovative construction solutions for use on their massive Delta Works Scheme, which commenced immediately after the devastating flood in 1953 (see Wikipedia for details of this h...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• The Textile Institute and Woodhead Publishing
• Copyright
• List of contributors
• Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles
• Part One. Geotextile development and manufacture
• Part Two. Properties, behavior and testing
• Part Three. Primary functions of geotextiles
• Part Four. Specific applications of geotextiles
• Part Five. Common attributes of geotextiles
• Index