Nonwovens in geotechnical applications

The present study reports the mechanical behaviour of needle-punched nonwoven fabrics developed for geotechnical applications. Needle-punched fabrics were produced with different areal mass using a blend of polypropylene, polyester and acrylic fibres. The fabrics were characterized for various mechanical properties such as tensile, puncture resistance and dynamic perforation behaviour. The influence of areal mass on these mechanical properties was thoroughly investigated. The performance of hybrid structures using a woven or non woven fabric as the second layer was also evaluated. The experimental results demonstrate that there exists a significant correlation between the areal mass and mechanical properties of the developed geotextiles. Moreover, the woven fabric layer used in the hybrid structure was found detrimental to the mechanical properties, except the fact that it decreases the initial deformation of structure under tensile loading.QREN - project n.º 2010/1196