From: A Test of Strength
Types of Geosynthetics
For the past 20 years, the use of geosynthetics has increased by 10% to 20% each year in transportation, geotechnical, and environmental applications, according to the Geosynthetic Research Institute of Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.
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Geosynthetics are materials manufactured from a variety of polymers used to enhance, augment, and create cost-effective solutions in engineering construction projects. Among their functions are separation, reinforcement, filtration, drainage, and liquid barrier. Among the most common types of geosynthetics are the following:
- Geotextiles: Flexible, textile-like fabrics of controlled permeability used in nearly all functions, except liquid barrier, in soil, rock, and waste materials
- Geomembranes: Essentially impermeable polymeric sheets used as barriers for liquid or solid waste containment
- Geogrids: Stiff or flexible polymer grid-like sheets with large apertures used primarily as reinforcement of unstable soil and waste masses
- Geonets: Stiff polymer net-like sheets with in-plane openings used primarily as a drainage material within landfills or in soil and rock masses
- Geocomposites: Hybrid systems of any or all geosynthetic types, which can function as specifically designed for use in soil, rock, waste, and liquid problems
Other products include geocellular confinement systems—fabric honeycomb-like grids placed on the ground and filled with soil—which are often used to create a stable base for temporary or light traffic roadways; filter fabrics, used for parking lot and roadway drainage, allowing water to infiltrate while stabilizing the sub-base; geotextile tubes or “sausages,” filled with sand and used to slow beachfront erosion and protect homes and other structures; erosion control blankets, a temporary measure designed to quickly biodegrade or UV-degrade; turf reinforcement mats, similar to erosion control blankets but designed for more permanent applications; and silt fence, porous fabric that allows water to drain while catching soil and sediment.
March-April 2008
From: A Test of Strength
Types of Geosynthetics
For the past 20 years, the use of geosynthetics has increased by 10% to 20% each year in transportation, geotechnical, and environmental applications, according to the Geosynthetic Research Institute of Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.Geosynthetics are materials manufactured from a variety of polymers used to enhance, augment, and create cost-effective solutions in engineering construction projects. Among their functions are separation, reinforcement, filtration, drainage, and liquid barrier. Among the most common types of geosynthetics are the following:
- Geotextiles: Flexible, textile-like fabrics of controlled permeability used in nearly all functions, except liquid barrier, in soil, rock, and waste materials
- Geomembranes: Essentially impermeable polymeric sheets used as barriers for liquid or solid waste containment
- Geogrids: Stiff or flexible polymer grid-like sheets with large apertures used primarily as reinforcement of unstable soil and waste masses
- Geonets: Stiff polymer net-like sheets with in-plane openings used primarily as a drainage material within landfills or in soil and rock masses
- Geocomposites: Hybrid systems of any or all geosynthetic types, which can function as specifically designed for use in soil, rock, waste, and liquid problems
Other products include geocellular confinement systems—fabric honeycomb-like grids placed on the ground and filled with soil—which are often used to create a stable base for temporary or light traffic roadways; filter fabrics, used for parking lot and roadway drainage, allowing water to infiltrate while stabilizing the sub-base; geotextile tubes or “sausages,” filled with sand and used to slow beachfront erosion and protect homes and other structures; erosion control blankets, a temporary measure designed to quickly biodegrade or UV-degrade; turf reinforcement mats, similar to erosion control blankets but designed for more permanent applications; and silt fence, porous fabric that allows water to drain while catching soil and sediment.