Reliance Project, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): Application of Non Woven Geotextiles for Ground Stabilisation and Drainage Performance

At a Reliance project site in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Ocean Non Wovens supplied 1,600 SQM of Ocean Non Woven Geotextile (Polyester, 1.5 mm) for the subgrade of internal roads and utility corridors. The fabric went between the prepared subgrade and the granular layers to keep them separate, filter water and protect the subgrade from moisture.

Project overview

• Project Name: Reliance Project
• Location: Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
• Product Supplied: Ocean Non Woven Geotextile (Polyester), 1.5 mm thickness
• Quantity Used: 1,600 SQM

The work covered preparation and stabilisation of subgrade layers for internal roads and utility corridors. The aims were better load distribution, better drainage and lower long-term maintenance risk from weak subsoil and moisture.

Why a non-woven geotextile was needed

Soils around Jabalpur are mixed, ranging from clayey patches with low permeability to granular layers with little cohesion. In the monsoon, water entering the subgrade lowers its bearing capacity, and the result is rutting, settlement and early pavement distress.

A non woven geotextile handles several of these problems at once:

• Separation: stops subgrade soil and granular base from mixing
• Filtration: lets water through while retaining fine soil
• Drainage: carries water laterally within its thickness
• Protection: cushions membranes or drainage layers placed against it

Separation is the main function in a road like this. Under repeated wheel loads, a wet clay subgrade pumps fines up into the aggregate, and stone is pushed down into the clay. Both reduce the effective thickness of the base. The fabric keeps the two apart, so the base keeps its design thickness and stiffness. IRC:SP:59, the Indian Roads Congress guideline on geosynthetics in road pavements, covers geotextile separation and filtration layers of this kind.

How the geotextile helps the pavement

Subgrade stabilisation

Geotextiles are not primary reinforcement in the way geogrids are. They help the pavement indirectly, by preventing fines from contaminating the aggregate. That preserves the load-bearing capacity of the base and reduces deformation under repeated traffic.

Drainage

Non-woven fabrics are permeable and have a controlled pore size, so they filter well. In paved yards and service roads, water trapped in the subgrade is a common cause of distress. A geotextile-wrapped drainage layer lets that water escape while holding soil back, which keeps pore pressure down and the subgrade’s shear strength up.

Erosion control

Geotextiles are also used under riprap, stone pitching and embankment protection to stop soil washing out, and IRC:SP:59 covers this use as a filter under stone protection in drains and slopes. On industrial sites, where stormwater is concentrated into designed channels, this matters for the drains as well as the roads. See Ocean’s erosion control solutions.

Site challenges and how they were handled

Soil variability and monsoon sensitivity

The site had soft or silty patches, strength loss after heavy rain and uneven compaction from varying moisture content. Weak patches were stabilised by local soil improvement before the geotextile was placed. The fabric then kept the improved subgrade clean while the granular layers above were placed and compacted.

Installation quality control

Poor installation is the usual reason a geotextile underperforms. Typical faults are wrinkles, overlaps that are too short or wastefully long, and damage from construction traffic and sharp aggregate. On this site, the fabric was laid with uniform tension, overlaps were set according to subgrade conditions, and heavy equipment was kept off exposed fabric. The fabric was checked visually for tears and punctures before it was covered, in line with common geosynthetics installation guidance.

Industrial loads

Industrial sites carry repeated loads from heavy vehicles, forklifts and handling equipment, and that cyclic loading causes progressive subgrade deformation if separation and drainage fail. Polyester non-wovens retain their tensile strength well and resist most chemicals, including hydrocarbons, which suits long-term use in yards exposed to fuel and oil. One caution: polyester can degrade by hydrolysis in strongly alkaline conditions (roughly pH above 10), so polypropylene is usually preferred where the fabric will sit against lime- or cement-stabilised soil or fresh concrete. Tensile strength is measured by the wide-width test (ISO 10319 or ASTM D4595); creep, which governs long-term reinforcement use, is a separate test (ISO 13431).

Maintenance and lifecycle

By keeping pavement layers intact and the subgrade clean, a geotextile delays rutting and surface cracking. That means:

• Lower periodic resurfacing costs
• Less downtime for industrial operations
• More predictable performance over the life of the pavement

Once the road is built, the fabric cannot be seen, but its effect shows up as less deformation and fewer repairs over time, particularly on sites with variable soils and heavy seasonal rain.

About Ocean Non Wovens

Ocean Non Wovens manufactures and supplies geosynthetics for industrial, road and environmental projects across India, and works with contractors and developers on material selection and site support. For geotextile, geogrid or drainage requirements, see the case studies or contact the team.