You’ve likely seen geotextile fabric while you’ve been out and about, or maybe you’ve even used it at some point on your property. The permeable material can be nonwoven or woven, each type getting used for a variety of applications. For example, nonwoven geotextile fabric is used for things like retaining walls and sandbags, while woven geotextile fabric is ideal for driveway construction and erosion control projects. However, uses for woven and nonwoven fabric can vary depending on various project scopes. Both are typically known for perks such as offering soil stability and drainage.
Essentially, woven geotextile is made by weaving individual yarns on a loom to create a uniform length. Different materials such as slit films, fibrillated yarn, and monofilaments can be used, but the weaving technique is constant regardless of the material used.
This ensures that the woven geotextile fabric is strong, making it an excellent choice for applications like road constructions, beneath driveways, residential streets, and highways. Woven geotextiles are not as permeable with a few exceptions, so they are not the best choice for drainage projects. Instead, they are excellent for long-term separation and reinforcement applications, and they resist corrosion.
Nonwoven geotextiles are manufactured by binding short and long fibers together through needle punching or other alternative methods. Usually, heat treatment is applied to ensure the geotextile’s strength is improved.
Nonwoven geotextiles are usually made using synthetic materials such as polyester or polypropylene and they are permeable. They are best used in projects that require protection, filtration, separation, and drainage. However, they are not as strong as woven geotextiles.
Woven and nonwoven geotextiles have significant differences, especially in their applications and how they are manufactured. The kind of project you are working on will determine the geotextile fabrics that will best suit you. Listed below are the major difference between woven and nonwoven geotextiles:
Nonwoven geotextiles are the best solution when you need permeability and soil separation. They are also the perfect solution if you are working on a project that requires drainage. While it may not be as strong as a woven geotextile, it is an excellent choice for specific projects. Therefore, when working on a project, you should know what geotextile will suit the project.
Listed below are some applications of nonwoven geotextile:
There are several applications where woven geotextiles can be applied. As stated, you should ensure that you are using suitable material for your project. When you correctly specify and install woven geotextiles, they extend your project's life, reduce the long-term maintenance costs, and deliver improved performance. Listed below are some applications for woven geotextiles:
There are multiple ways that geotextiles can be used today. For instance, you can find them in breakwaters, drains, harbor works, railways, and roads. Discussed below are how geotextiles are used today.
A geotextile material can aid in collecting gas or water and transporting them along its plane, which offers a seamless transmission.
Geotextiles can be used to block water by applying an asphaltic suspension. This makes the fabric impermeable and best for construction projects like pavement rehabilitation.
Geotextiles can be used in filtration to allow water to go through the covered layer. Geotextiles are used to let water through but prevent other fine particles and soils from going through. You can place a filter behind the geotextile.
Geotextiles can be used in reinforcement as a source of strength. They can be used in land reclamation, controlling water erosion, retaining walls, and steep slopes.
Geotextiles are often applied on top of a highly compressible material in stabilization. Usually, soft soil is the material. The geotextile lets water seep from the soil to the draining material, and therefore, merges the basement layer, strengthens it, making it a trustworthy base.
A geotextile is placed between two layers of different materials. This could be an old and new pavement, new construction and soil, or two soil types.
Woven geotextiles are more durable than nonwoven geotextiles. However, when standing water or pooling is a problem, nonwoven geotextiles are an excellent solution. It is worth mentioning that other than being a perfect drainage solution, nonwoven fabrics also offer great strength and durability, so they can still be used in a range of applications. If you are looking for woven and nonwoven geotextiles for your landscaping or construction project, be sure to browse our extensive catalog of geotextile fabrics. We offer a range of roll sizes so that you get as much fabric as you need, when you need it.
By Joshua Venters, Engineering Business Manager, Layfield Group
The use of geotextiles has steadily grown over the past century. Geotextiles were initially derived from existing textiles that were readily available on the market, such as carpet backing and upholstery fabric. Manufacturers have modified geotextiles to provide increased benefits to roadway construction. While there are two main types (wovens and nonwovens), there is often still some confusion as to which product to use on your jobsite. Common misconceptions about the functions of a woven geotextile vs. a nonwoven geotextile can often lead to added confusion. This article will go into detail about the two main types of geotextiles and their functions.
First-generation woven geotextiles were made of slit tapes. Slit tapes are extruded flat yarns woven at 90-degree angles to yield a durable textile. Due to their wide smooth surface, they have very poor water permittivity and low soil interaction properties. These factors make them a poor choice for civil applications, especially in wet conditions.
Over time, the development of high-performance woven geotextiles has led to a more effective material. These developments have improved flow rates and higher interaction coefficients, making them much more suitable for civil applications by providing separation, confinement and reinforcement. They also allow for improved filtration and drainage.
Similar to wovens, nonwoven geotextiles are made using a synthetic textile. However, they have a more random structure that is produced by the interlocking of fibers. Wovens and nonwovens are used in similar applications, leading to confusion. The easiest way to identify the difference between a woven and a nonwoven geotextile is by its physical attributes. Nonwoven geotextiles look and feel like felt, with the characteristic “fuzzy” look to the material.
When it comes to the manufacturing of a nonwoven geotextile, there are many different methods used today. The most common manufacturing method is by needlepunching. Needlepunched nonwoven geotextiles are made by taking a large number of small fibers and using a barbed needle to interlock the fibers together. Nonwoven geotextiles are generally used to provide separation, combined with filtration and drainage functions when used in a civil application.
The differences between woven and nonwoven geotextiles can be challenging to determine when looking at material specifications. Generally, wovens have higher strength values, while nonwovens have higher flow rates and permittivity. The easiest way to distinguish the difference between the two materials is by starting with elongation. Nonwovens will have much higher elongation than a woven. A nonwoven specification will list the elongation as being greater than 50%, while a woven will be listed as between 5% and 25%, if listed at all.
The following chart shows two examples of standard specifications for traditional woven and nonwoven materials. There are significant differences regarding their elongation and permittivity. However, tensile strengths are similar, given they are manufactured from similar materials. All these items are important to consider when choosing the correct type of geotextile for your application. It is essential to make sure you are using the right product for the right reasons.
When looking at the differences between woven and nonwoven geotextiles, another point of confusion is their weight. In both examples below, the weights are not listed. The weight of a woven geotextile is rarely specified. The reason is that they are typically used to provide separation and reinforcement, and are not dependent on the weight.
Conversely, the weight of a nonwoven geotextile is often specified, which is why you will typically hear or say, “I am looking for an 8 ounce, 4 ounce, 10 ounce, etc.” For a long time, nonwoven geotextiles have been measured by their weight, meaning the finished product would be 8 ounces per square yard (33.9 g/m2). The remainder of the specifications, which include the strength, puncture, etc., would be a direct result of the product weight.
As the use of geotextiles has grown and developed, the manufacturing processes have changed as well. Now, most nonwovens can be manufactured with a lighter weight and still achieve the same strength properties, leading to reduced costs. There are always exceptions, such as in the case of using nonwovens as cushion geotextiles underneath geomembranes. In such instances, the puncture, weight and thickness properties are more critical than the permittivity and strength properties.
This article first appeared on the Layfield Group Knowledge Center website, www.layfieldgroup.com/Knowledge-Center.