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Review
. 2020 Apr 10;13(7):1774.
doi: 10.3390/ma13071774.

Review of Application and Innovation of Geotextiles in Geotechnical Engineering

Hao Wu  1 , Chongkai Yao  1 , Chenghan Li  1 , Miao Miao  1 , Yujian Zhong  1 , Yuquan Lu  1 , Tong Liu  2
Affiliations
Review

Review of Application and Innovation of Geotextiles in Geotechnical Engineering

Hao Wu et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

Most geotextiles consist of polymers of polyolefin, polyester or polyamide family, which involve environmental problems related to soil pollution. Geotextiles can be used for at least one of the following functions: Separation, reinforcement, filtration, drainage, stabilization, barrier, and erosion protection. Due to the characteristics of high strength, low cost, and easy to use, geotextiles are widely used in geotechnical engineering such as soft foundation reinforcement, slope protection, and drainage system. This paper reviews composition and function of geotextiles in geotechnical engineering. In addition, based on literatures including the most recent data, the discussion turns to recent development of geotextiles, with emphasis on green geotextiles, intelligent geotextiles, and high-performance geotextiles. The present situation of these new geotextiles and their application in geotechnical engineering are reviewed.

Keywords: application; geotechnical engineering; geotextiles; innovation; natural geotextiles.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Most common polymers used as geotextiles and SEM image.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Separation function of geotextiles.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of pavement with or without geotextiles.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Filtration function of geotextiles.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Drainage function of geotextiles.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Subsurface drainage design with the wicking geotextiles [35].
Figure 7
Figure 7
Reinforcement function of geotextiles.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Some applications of geotextile reinforcement: (a) reinforcement of slopes; (b) reinforcement of embankment; (c) reinforcement of soft soil foundation; and (d) reinforcement of load transfer platforms.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Global geotextile market share, by application, 2019 (%) [41,42,43].
Figure 10
Figure 10
Chemical structure and properties of main components in plant fiber [5].
Figure 11
Figure 11
Common natural-fiber-based geotextiles: (a) jute geotextiles and (b) coir geotextiles.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Soluble heavy metals breakthrough curves (BTCs): (a) sand alone and (b) sand + 3 flax geotextile [80].
Figure 13
Figure 13
The working principle and sensing principle of Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) [104].
Figure 14
Figure 14
Intelligent geotextile based on distributed sensor.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Intelligent geotextile based on polymer optical fiber sensor.
Figure 16
Figure 16
(a) intelligent geotextiles installed and (b) test site [113].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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