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Geosynthetics

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 Introduction
• Depleting sources for granular and other elementary raw
materials, combined with the limited availability of funds for
projects, has been generating new opportunities for innovative
engineering to achieve cost-effective solutions

• One of those innovations is the introduction of geosynthetics

into the field of civil engineering
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• Geosynthetics are considered as bona fide engineering

materials that not only are filling in for the scarce raw
materials like cement and steel, but also are turning out to be a
pretty sound and good alternative to the conventional designs

• Apart from being economical, they can be rapidly installed and

help in quality control of factory manufactured products
 Introduction (Contd…)
• The use of geosynthetics is, though, still novel in the
construction industry, its use is nevertheless increasing every
year in sectors such as reinforcement of fill, management of
pore water pressure, foundations and pavements

• Geosynthetics or geosynthetic materials are nothing but

planar, polymeric (synthetic or natural) materials used in
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contact with soil/rock and/or any other geotechnical material,

for Filtration, drainage, Separation, Reinforcement, Protection,
Sealing and Packing

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Classification

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 Types

Types of Geosynthetics in Civil Engineering

 Geotextiles
 Geogrids
 Geonets
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 Geomembranes
 Pre-fabricated vertical drains
 Geosynthetic clay liner
 Geocells
 Geocomposites

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Types

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 Functions
Functions of Geosynthetics in Civil Engineering

 Soil reinforcement structure

 Basal reinforcement to support the soil reinforcement
structure
 Separation between the in-situ soil and the imported soil to
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avoid mixing and reducing mechanical performance

 Filtration behind all hydraulic structures
 Drainage control at the top 8 m to collect any seepage water
coming from the other side of the embankment to avoid
contamination on the structural fill
 Erosion control blanket to protect the slope at the top and
avoid erosion

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Uses

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 Uses (Contd..)
 Separation of Soil Layers
• Separation → a permeable barrier placed between subsoil and
coarse stone to maintain the bearing capacity of the hardcore
layer

• In order to keep the imported material separated from the in-

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situ soil, a separating layer of geosynthetic is laid between the

geotechnical entities. This is done to keep the properties of the
imported material intact which otherwise could have altered
under the action of applied loads

• Depending upon the surrounding conditions, nonwoven

geotextile, geofoam and geocomposites can be laid in between
the imported material and the in-situ soil
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 Uses (Contd..)
• They are usually applied at subgrade/sub-base interfaces in
temporary and permanent roads, between rail-road blast and
foundation soil, and between embankment fill and soft
foundation soil
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Separation function: (a) Without geotextile and (b) With geotextile

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Uses (Contd..)

Separation

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 Uses (Contd..)
 Filtration of Water
• Filtration → Permit liquid to pass through its plane while
blocking the path of soil particles

• The mismanagement of water on site is capable of causing

extreme harm; erosion of soil in a particular area is one of the
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most harmful repercussions that carelessness could lead

• It often results in the formation of irreparable gullies hence to

help prevent that from happening, a geocomposite clay liner
(GCL) is placed underneath all the hydraulic structures

• This is a costly option therefore to remain within budget, it is

also suggested to use nonwoven geotextile
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 Uses (Contd..)
 Filtration
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Filtration function: (a) Without geotextile and

(b) With geotextile
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 Uses (Contd..)
 Filtration of Water
• Drainage (Fluid transmission) → transportation of liquid or gas
within its own plane to an outlet:- Transmissivity

• The mismanagement of water on site is capable of causing

extreme harm; erosion of soil in a particular area is one of the
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most harmful repercussions that carelessness could lead

• It often results in the formation of irreparable gullies hence to

help prevent that from happening, a geocomposite clay liner
(GCL) is placed underneath all the hydraulic structures

• This is a costly option therefore to remain within budget, it is

also suggested to use nonwoven geotextile
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 Uses (Contd..)
 Drainage of Water
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Geotextile drainage function

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 Uses (Contd..)
 Drainage Works
• Drainage (Fluid transmission) → transportation of liquid or gas
within its own plane to an outlet:- Transmissivity

• If water isn’t contained properly on the sides of, say an

embankment, an increase in the water table is observed that
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further brings pore pressure into the play

• The increase in the pore pressure often requires a surplus

amount of reinforcement of about 50%. To avoid this,
geocomposite liner is installed usually at the back of the
reinforced structure with a perforated pipe at the bottom to
collect water

• The pipe is then connected to the hydraulic structures 16

 Uses (Contd..)
 Drainage Works
• The type of geosynthetics used for drainage are geotextiles,
geotextile related products (specifi cally geonets), and
geocomposites (sandwich structures of geotextiles and
geonets)
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Geotextile drainage function 17

 Uses (Contd..)
 Soil Reinforcement
• The technology of soil reinforcement, using geosynthetics,
involves labor force to cut the geogrid to the required length,
place it on site

• Soil reinforcement is usually laid in one of the following

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scenarios
 Soil bearing capacity is low or the layers are compressible
 Landslide-prone zone
 Excessive rutting
 Uneven settlements

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 Uses (Contd..)
 Soil Reinforcement (Contd..)
• It allows the steepening of the slope, enabling to maintain the
construction within the boundaries, as well as saving on
earthmoving and importing of soil

• The geogrids used are high-tensile polyester, encased in a

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LLDPE (linear low-density polyethylene) coating to prevent

installation damage acting as primary reinforcement

• A secondary reinforcement in-between is given by a double-

twisted mesh. Where hydraulic structures were required, a
gabion face is used

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 Uses (Contd..)
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Geotextiles reinforcing function

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 Uses (Contd..)
 Soil Reinforcement (Contd..)
• Basal reinforcement is provided at the foundation level of the
reinforced structure
• A standard penetration test is conducted to assess the soil’s
bearing capacity. If the bearing capacity comes out between 10
and 60 Kpa, basal reinforcement is provided in the form of
Geogrid reinforcement, which is laid out to counter for the
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failure that could have occurred due to the un-drained shear

stress of the foundation

Placement pattern of basal reinforcement 21

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Uses (Contd..)

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Uses (Contd..)

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 Uses (Contd..)
 Soil Erosion Control (Contd..)
• Usually, gabions, geotextiles and mattresses are used for
erosion protection

• Furthermore, geotextile filter and geotextile reinforcement

ensure stability during saturation in the rainy season and
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sudden drawdown conditions

• Nonwoven geotextiles act as filter separator, drains and

reinforcements

• An economical pre-formed unit made of double-twisted mesh

to provide primary reinforcement is used for erosion control

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 Uses (Contd..)
 Soil Erosion Control
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Application of geotextiles in coastal erosion protection 25

 Uses (Contd..)
 Soil Erosion Control
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Application of geotextiles in coastal erosion protection

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 Uses (Contd..)
 Containment (fluid barrier) and protection
• The specific objective in containment is to prevent the
movement of fluids, mainly liquids, from a collection zone into
the neighbouring soil

• For this function, the most commonly used geosynthetic is an

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impermeable plastic membrane, usually high density

polyethylene (HDPE), but polypropylene (PP) sheets, polyvinyl
chloride (PVC)-coated textiles, and non-woven geotextiles
impregnated with montmorillonite clay are also of interest

• However, generally where the fluid barrier function is in

evidence, a geotextile is present as a protection layer.

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 Uses (Contd..)
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Illustrating protective function of geotextiles

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 Applications-Geogrids

• Uniaxial Geogrids
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Biaxial Geogrids 29
 Applications-Geonets
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Geonets
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 Applications-Geomembranes

•
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 Applications-Geomembranes
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Applications-Geopipes

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 Applications-Geocomposites
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 Applications-Geocomposites
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 Applications-Geocomposites
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