Non-woven Geotextile Fabric: Compared With Woven Geotextile

This technical note will go into detail about what a non-woven geotextile fabric is and what the key distinctions are between woven and non-woven geotextiles.

By stabilizing the ground, enhancing drainage and filtration, separating aggregates, and dispersing imposed loads, geotextile fabrics are significantly influencing modern construction. Understanding their differences, including whether they are woven or non-woven, will help you select the best geotextile fabric for your project.

The definitions of each category and the kinds of projects that fit best under each are given below.

What is Non-woven Geotextile Fabric?

Although non-woven geotextile has a lower tensile strength than woven geotextile, it still offers great strength, durability, and excellent drainage properties.

Non-woven geotextile is a felt-like material created by thermally bonding polypropylene or a blend of polypropylene and polyester fibers, and finishing with techniques like needle punching and calendaring.

When used below ground, this kind of geotextile fabric is less difficult to cut, has a high water permeability rate, and does not lose strength over time in the same way that woven fabric does.

For applications requiring long-term ground stabilization and filtration, such as beneath driveways and roads, in land drainage systems, and in stormwater drainage systems, it is ideal in this regard.

Further Reading: What is Non-woven Fabric?

Applications for Non-woven Geotextiles

When soil separation and permeability are required, nonwoven geotextiles are the ideal choice. If you are working on a project that needs drainage, they are also the ideal solution. It is a great option for particular projects even though it might not be as strong as a woven geotextile.

Thus, it is important to understand which geotextile will work best for a project before starting it. Listed below are some applications of nonwoven geotextile:

• Beneath rock riprap revetment
• Wrapping French drains
• Used with alternative sub-surface drainage solutions
• For projects that require soil separation and permeability

What is Woven Geotextile Fabric?

Slit tapes were used to create the first-generation woven geotextiles. Extruded flat yarns are woven into slit tapes at 90-degree angles to create a strong textile.

They have very low soil interaction properties and very poor water permittivity due to their wide, smooth surface. Due to these factors, they are a bad choice for civil applications, especially in wet environments.

A more efficient material has evolved over time as a result of the development of high-performance woven geotextiles.

These advancements provide separation, confinement, and reinforcement while having higher interaction coefficients and improved flow rates, which make them much more suitable for civil applications. They also make it possible for better drainage and filtration.

Further Reading: How to Do a Woven Wheel Stitch?

Applications for Woven Geotextiles

Woven geotextiles are useful in many different situations. As previously mentioned, you should make sure that the material you are using is appropriate for your project. Woven geotextiles have a longer lifespan, require less ongoing maintenance, and provide better performance when they are properly specified and installed.

Listed below are some applications for woven geotextiles:

• Highways
• Residential streets
• Parking lots
• Beneath driveways

Differences Between Woven and Non-woven Geotextiles

Understanding the distinctions between them will help you select the ideal geotextile fabric for your project. Geotextiles are typically stronger when they are woven, while non-woven geotextiles are more permeable and flow at higher rates. The differences are listed below.

1. Physical Attributes: The feel and appearance of woven fabrics are similar to plastic, while those of non-woven fabrics are fuzzy.
2. Manufacturing Process: In Malaysia, non-woven geotextiles are produced by bonding fibers together, whereas woven geotextiles are constructed on a loom or film.
3. Refer: In contrast to non-wovens, which are identified by weight, or typically grams per square meter, wovens are identified by tensile stress.
4. Strength: Because Malaysian woven fabrics are made by thread crossing, which creates a strong reinforcement, they are stronger and more resilient than non-woven fabrics.
5. Elongation: Contrary to woven geotextiles, which have an elongation between 5% and 25%, non-woven geotextiles have a much higher elongation (greater than 50%).
6. Weight: Weaved materials are rarely given weight because, regardless of weight, they are typically used to provide separation and reinforcement. On the other hand, non-wovens frequently have a specified weight.
7. Cost: Given that woven fabrics are more expensive to produce and require more time to manufacture, non-woven fabrics are typically more affordable.

How Are Geotextiles Used Today?

Geotextiles can currently be used in a variety of ways. For instance, you can find them in breakwaters, drains, harbor works, railways, and roads. Below is a discussion of current geotextile applications.

• Drainage: A geotextile material can help collect gas or water and transport them along its plane, providing a seamless transmission.
• Moisture Barrier: By applying an asphaltic suspension, geotextiles can be used to block water. The fabric is now impermeable and ideal for construction jobs like rehabilitating paved surfaces.
• Filtration: Water can pass through the covered layer by using geotextiles as a filter. The use of geotextiles allows water to pass while obstructing the passage of soil and other fine particles. A filter can be positioned behind the geotextile.
• Reinforcement: As a source of strength, geotextiles can be used in the reinforcement. They can be applied to steep slopes, water erosion control, retaining walls, and land reclamation.
• Stabilization: In stabilization, geotextiles are frequently used on top of a highly compressible material. Typically, the substance is soft soil. By allowing water to permeate from the soil to the draining material, the geotextile combines the basement layer, fortifies it, and transforms it into a solid foundation.
• Separation: In between two layers of various materials, a geotextile is positioned. This could be a new building and soil, a new pavement, or two different kinds of soil.

Geotextiles that are woven last longer than those that are nonwoven. Nonwoven geotextiles, however, are a great solution when standing water or pooling is an issue. Nonwoven fabrics offer great strength and durability in addition to being a perfect drainage solution, making them useful for a variety of applications.

Conclusion: Woven Vs Nonwoven Geotextile Fabric

By bonding or entwining fibers collectively, either through heat, chemical reactions, needle punching, or other techniques, non-woven geotextile is created. Neither manual construction nor weaving is involved. By weaving together slit films, woven geotextile is produced in Malaysia. Fibrillated flat yarns that are woven into tapes or films at 90-degree angles are called slit films.

A landscaper’s best friend can be a geotextile, whether it is woven or non-woven. There is now a geotextile fabric that is suitable for the task, whether you need ground stabilization, separation of sub-base layers, aggregates, and other materials, drainage, or filtration.