Abstract

A geotextile, a subset of geosynthetics, is defined as any permeable textile material used with foundation soil, rock, earth, or any other geotechnical engineering-related material, as an integral part of a synthetic project, structure, or system.

The varied uses of geotextiles include drainage, dissimilar materials separation, erosion control, environmental protection, highway pavement rehabilitation, as component materials for geocomposites used in a variety of applications. Within each of these categories of use there exist numerous types of installations using the geotextiles. Polymers used in the manufacturing process in decreasing order of use include polypropylene, polyester, polyamide (nylon), polyethylene, and others to a much lesser extent. Geotextiles may be woven, nonwoven, or knitted. Woven and nonwoven geotextiles are the most common types presently in use in geotechnical engineering. Geotextiles are a relatively new concept for solving problems in geotechnical engineering. They have gained wide use as not only an economical solution to these problems, but in many instances as the only viable solution to a complex engineering problem.