Geotextile Fabric

What Is a Geotextile?

A geotextile is a unique fabric with tiny pores used in soil protection, drainage, separation, and filtration applications. These fabrics are usually long-lasting and can endure different kinds of extremities, as they are resistant to mechanical, bio, photo, hydraulic, and chemical degradation. They are made from polypropylene or polyester, and they are available in woven and nonwoven construction.

What Are Geotextile Fabrics Made Of?

Geotextile fabrics can be manufactured with either synthetic or natural fibers. Natural geotextiles such as jute and coir are usually woven and primarily used for soil erosion.

Nonwoven geotextiles, on the other hand, are usually made from synthetic fibers via a needle-punching process and include polyester, polypropylene, and polyamide.

How Are Geotextiles Used Today?

Geotextiles are widely used in all sorts of applications and industries, including railway and road construction. Other popular uses for geotextiles include:

Separating different types of soil
Building retaining walls
Reinforcement materials on steep slopes.
Soil stabilization and filtration projects.
Moisture barriers in pavement rehabilitation projects.

What Is the History of Geotextiles?

Geotextiles came into use around the 1950s, when they were still known as filter fabrics. Initially, they were used in soil erosion control projects by placing them under erosion control blocks, below stone ripraps, and behind concrete retention walls. Later on, they became useful for road construction projects.

Rhone Poulenc Company, a French company, made the first modern geotextile in 1968 when a nonwoven polyester geotextile was used in a dam construction project.