Non Woven Geotextile - Sugu Fabrics & linings

Embankments can be reinforced, or “stabilised”, by a number of materials each governed by their own particular technologies. The area of embankment reinforcement is probably one of the more dynamic areas in road construction at the present time, and new manufacturers and new materials continue to appear regularly in the technical press. Geotextile reinforcement will be considered and their application to the two types of road construction over soft ground, i.e. the ‘thin’ construction of roads and pavements and the ‘thicker’ construction of embankments. What is generally accepted is that for thin fills the geotextile will act as a separator and filter, and the particular material should be chosen with these properties in mind.In the case of thicker fills the geotextile or geogrid will perform more of its true reinforcement role and a suitable grade of reinforcement material should be selected. Here it will be necessary for the designer to establish that there will be sufficient friction generated between the geotextile and fill and underlying soil to resist the forces created. The installation of the reinforcement form of geotextile will not affect the long term consolidation settlement of the embankment, or of its overall factor of safety, but it does have some appreciable short and medium term benefits. In particular it has the advantage of assisting the local stability of the embankment during the construction phase by decreasing the rate of spread of the load from the fill material on the surface until the foundation soil is strong enough to support the load itself. The geotextile should however only be considered as a temporary supplement to the strength of the foundation soil to allow time for the soil to gain sufficient strength to support the embankment in the long term