--- title: "Know Everything About Geotextiles" date: 2021-10-14 author: "Pawan Khatri" url: https://oceangeosynthetics.com/what-is-geotextile-sheet/ --- October 14, 2021 | [Geotextile](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/category/geotextile/), [Insights](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/category/insights/) # Know Everything About Geotextiles ![](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Geotextile-300x221.png) [Geotextiles](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/products/geotextile-manufacturers/) are permeable fabrics laid in or on soil. In road building they are used mainly for separation and filtration: they stop fine soil migrating into the stone layers above while letting water pass. They are also used to reinforce soil and to protect it from erosion. Road building is their most common use. A geotextile laid on a soft subgrade keeps the aggregate from punching into the soil, so poor ground can carry a road and construction on difficult sites is easier. Geotextiles are also used in buildings, dams, embankments, landfills, drains and coastal works. A geotextile can be made from synthetic or natural fibres (jute and coir geotextiles are the natural kind). It holds fine soil particles in place, lets water drain and reduces wind and water erosion. Depending on its type it adds friction at soil interfaces, restrains soil movement, spreads load and moves the potential failure plane deeper into firmer soil. ## Table of Contents ## **Geotextiles And Their Applications** Geotextiles are porous fabrics made from synthetic polymers such as polypropylene, polyester, polyethylene, nylon and polyvinyl chloride, or blends of these. Most geotextiles made today are polypropylene or polyester. Depending on the product they range in thickness from about 10 to 300 mils (1 mil is 1/1000 inch, so roughly 0.25 to 7.5 mm), with widths up to 30 feet and roll lengths up to 2000 feet. Their permeability is comparable to soils from fine sand to coarse gravel. Woven geotextiles are woven from monofilament, multifilament or slit-film tape yarns. Nonwoven geotextiles are made from continuous filaments or staple fibres bonded by needle punching, heat or chemicals and calendered (pressed through rollers) into a relatively thin fabric. They are tough and durable in most soil environments and are commonly quoted as suitable for a pH range of 3 to 11, though polyester should be avoided in strongly alkaline conditions (above about pH 9), such as against fresh concrete or lime-treated soil. Geotextiles have been used in geotechnical engineering for decades, as soil separators, in filtration and drainage, as reinforcement to improve the stability of earth masses, and for [erosion control](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/suitable_sectors/slope-stabilization-erosion-control/). The sections below cover the main applications. ### **Separators Of Geotextiles** ![](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Geotextile-1-300x179.png) Separation and filtration often go together. A correctly graded filter reduces seepage forces that would erode the soil in contact with it. Its pores must be small enough to hold the protected soil in place, so that erodible soil does not wash into or through the filter. If the filter is wrongly specified, fine particles from the protected soil block its pores and drainage stops working. A geotextile can replace a graded soil filter, as shown in Fig-1 for an earth dam. 1) Separation: laid between a natural soil subgrade and the stone aggregate of a road pavement, a geotextile stops the two mixing. 2) Paving interlayer: a paving fabric saturated with bitumen and placed under an asphalt overlay acts as a moisture barrier and slows reflective cracking from the old pavement. ### **Reinforcement With Geotextiles** ![](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Geotextile-2-300x265.png) Soil is strong in compression but weak in tension. A high-strength geotextile carries the tension, so the soil can support more load. In an unpaved road, a geotextile between the natural subgrade and the stone aggregate separates the two layers and also raises the bearing capacity of the subgrade, so the road can carry heavier traffic. In this role the geotextile acts as reinforcement. Geotextiles are also commonly used to reinforce [retaining walls](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/solution/retaining-walls-soil-reinforcement/) and embankments. The method follows reinforced earth wall principles. In a wrapped-face wall the geotextile both reinforces the fill and forms the face. Steps for building a geotextile wall with granular backfill: 1. Level the working surface. 2. Lay geotextile sheet 1 at the required width, leaving 1.5 to 2 m of extra length draped over a temporary wooden form at the face. 3. Place granular soil on the sheet and compact it with a roller of suitable weight. 4. Once the layer is compacted, fold the spare geotextile back over the face and onto the top of the layer. 5. Place the second layer on top of the first and repeat until the wall reaches full height. 6. Protect the exposed face from UV and damage with shotcrete or gunite: a low-water sand and cement mix, often with admixtures, sprayed onto the surface at high pressure. Geotextile-reinforced walls are designed on the same principles as reinforced earth walls. ### **Filtration And Drainage With Geotextiles** In drainage, a nonwoven geotextile wraps the drain aggregate or pipe so water can enter but soil cannot, and thicker nonwovens can carry water within their own plane. Geotextiles also control erosion of exposed soil surfaces from rain and running water, for example under riprap on river banks and coastal slopes, where they stop the soil washing out between the stones. Before any of this, check the geotextile against its specification. The common quality tests are: - Grab tensile strength (ASTM D4632) - Wide width strip tensile strength (ASTM D4595 / ISO 10319) - Trapezoid tearing strength (ASTM D4533) - Puncture resistance: CBR static puncture (ASTM D6241 / ISO 12236) and pyramid puncture (ASTM D5494) - Resistance to perforation (cone drop test, ISO 13433) - Seam strength (ASTM D4884) - Sampling and preparation of test specimens - Mass per unit area (ASTM D5261 / ISO 9864) - Thickness (ASTM D5199 / ISO 9863) - Apparent opening size by dry sieving (ASTM D4751) - Characteristic opening size by wet sieving (ISO 12956) - Water flow normal to the plane: permittivity (ASTM D4491 / ISO 11058) - Water flow in the plane: transmissivity (ASTM D4716 / ISO 12958) - Cylinder test - Compressive properties and compressive creep - Tensile creep and creep rupture (ASTM D5262 / ISO 13431) - Abrasion damage simulation (ISO 13427) Get Ocean Geosynthetics in your Google feed[![](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/google-g-logo.svg)Add us as a preferred source on Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=https://oceangeosynthetics.com/) [![Case Study Enhancing Mining Efficiency with Ocean Non Wovens' Geotextile Solutions](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Case-Study-Enhancing-Mining-Efficiency-with-Ocean-Non-Wovens-Geotextile-Solutions-225x300.jpg)](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/case-study-enhancing-mining-efficiency-with-ocean-non-wovens-geotextile-solutions/) [Case Studies](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/category/case-studies/) [Case Study: Enhancing Mining Efficiency with Ocean Non Wovens’ Geotextile Solutions  ](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/case-study-enhancing-mining-efficiency-with-ocean-non-wovens-geotextile-solutions/) Ocean Non Wovens supplied 4000 square meters of Ocean Non Woven Geotextile-200 GSM to a mining project in Rayagada, Odisha. The geotextile was used to… [See More](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/case-study-enhancing-mining-efficiency-with-ocean-non-wovens-geotextile-solutions/) [![Geomembranes A Solution for Sustainable Waste Management ](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Geomembranes-A-Solution-for-Sustainable-Waste-Management--300x150.png)](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/the-only-guide-to-geomembranes-you-will-ever-need/) [Geomembrane](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/category/geomembrane/), [Insights](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/category/insights/) [Geomembranes: A Solution for Sustainable Waste Management ](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/the-only-guide-to-geomembranes-you-will-ever-need/) Landfills, mine tailings and effluent ponds all have to keep contaminated liquid out of the ground, and geomembranes are the standard way to do it… [See More](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/the-only-guide-to-geomembranes-you-will-ever-need/) [![Industrial HDPE geomembrane liner installation in Assam India oil field with workers laying black polyethylene sheet](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/ocean-hdpe-liner-1-5-mm-for-oil-pit-reservoir-in-a-1775880748684-300x167.webp)](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/ocean-hdpe-liner-1-5-mm-for-oil-pit-reservoir-in-assam-a-detailed-case-study/) [Case Studies](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/category/case-studies/), [HDPE Liners](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/category/hdpe-liners/) [Ocean HDPE Liner 1.5 MM for Oil Pit Reservoir in Assam: A Detailed Case Study](https://oceangeosynthetics.com/ocean-hdpe-liner-1-5-mm-for-oil-pit-reservoir-in-assam-a-detailed-case-study/) Ocean Non Wovens supplied and installed 8,160 SQM of Ocean HDPE Liner 1.5 MM to line an oil pit reservoir in Assam. 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