Influence of Structural Parameters of Nonwoven Geotextiles on Separation and Filtration in Road Construction

Nonwoven geotextiles are often used in road construction as a separation layer. They consist of the web of fibers with different orientations. The orientation of fibers has an important influence on physical and mechanical properties of nonwoven geotextiles. The production of nonwoven geotextiles is cheaper in comparison to woven or knitted fabrics which can also be used as separation geotextiles. The purpose of this research was to study the influence of structural properties of nonwoven geotextiles, namely the diameter of fibers and mass and thickness of nonwoven geotextiles, on their mechanical and hydraulic properties. Six types of nonwoven geotextiles were used in the research. They were produced by the drylaid process (carded) using mechanical bonding technique and also with the combination of mechanical and thermal bonding technique. The research confirmed that the bonding technique and structural properties significantly influence the separation and filtration properties of nonwoven geotextiles, such as opening size and water permeability. It was also found that there are no significant differences in mechanical properties, such as viscoelastic properties and compression creep, between the samples in the dry and wet conditions.