Geotextiles are technical textiles with many applications, for instance, road construction, that enable uninterrupted water flow (filtration) and prevent soil particles passing in the direction of water flow (separation). They have to meet the requirements of civil engineering, such as that their characteristics should not change substantially over time. This paper introduces the manufacturing of geotextiles used for road construction, recycling possibility, characteristics, currently valid standards, and potential soil improvements by using non-woven geotextiles. We also present an overview of recent research in this field which focuses mostly on producing non-woven geotextiles, their composition, benefits, and shortcomings. The experimental part consisted of a detailed analysis of the structural characteristics of geotextiles used for separation and filtration in road construction. We defined structural parameters of unused geotextiles (diameter and direction of fibers, and non-woven layer's porousness and bulkiness). We analyzed in detail the relationship between geotextiles' structural parameters and final functional qualities, especially with regards to filtration in road construction. A detailed analysis of geotextiles' structural parameters was made after exposing samples to 25 kPa, 100 kPa, and 500 kPa of compressive load, from 1 to 24 hours, in a laboratory environment. The compressive load affects the separation and filtration characteristics. Our research showed that by defining the diameter and fiber direction, we can importantly influence non-woven geotextile's surface openness and pore size. We do not, however, influence the level of compression creep after prolonged use. The level of compression creep, which depends on the load and its duration, has an important influence on the non-woven geotextile's surface openness and pore size after prolonged use. This, in turn, affects its separation and filtration ability. The number of layers and bulkiness can affect non-woven geotextiles' separation and filtration characteristics, while combined (thermal and mechanical) bonding does not.
Based on our experiment, we conclude that non-woven geotextiles have the best functional qualities if made using the dry laid (carded) process, horizontal crosslayer system, and reinforced only mechanically (using needles and partial longitudinal fiber orientation). Among the analyzed non-woven geotextiles, the optimal functional qualities were observed in a sample made of fibers with an average fineness of 7.94 dtex, an average diameter of 33.15 µm, specific area of 1312 cm2/g, thickness 1.73 mm, mass 181 g/m2; pore size 98 µm, and porosity 0.885.
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