Response of a Woven and a Nonwoven geotextile to Monotonic and Cyclic Simple Tension

Simple tension tests were performed to investigate the load-elongation behavior of two geotextiles, a woven polyester and a nonwoven polypropylene, under monotonic and cyclic loading conditions. Creep tests under constant load were also performed in order to examine the time-dependent properties of both geotextiles. A wide difference in behavior was observed between the geotextiles due to different structures, manufacturing processes and polymer types. Visual inspection showed that progressive breakage of bonds between the fibers, and reorientation of the fibers were the main mechanisms controlling failure of the nonwoven geotextile. The behavior of the woven geotextile was mainly affected by polymer characteristics and exhibited nearly linear behavior under monotonic and cyclic loading, up to failure. A simple model was formulated to relate the monotonic and cyclic load to the number of load cycles. The model can be used to predict the permanent deformation as a function of the cyclic loading level and number of load cycles, or to establish fatigue criteria for design.