CE 853 Geosynthetics in Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Design Jan 2003

What are Geosynthetics? (acknowledgements to Geosynthetics Research Institute, Drexel

Univ., Philadelphia, USA)

Geosynthetics are human-made materials made from various types of polymers used to enhance,
augment and make possible cost effective environmental, transportation and geotechnical
engineering construction projects. They are used to provide one or more of the following functions;
separation, reinforcement, filtration, drainage or liquid barrier. The most common types of
geosynthetics are the following:

geotextiles - flexible, textile-like fabrics of controlled permeability used to provide all of the
above functions, except liquid barrier, in soil, rock and waste materials

geomembranes - essentially impermeable polymeric sheets used as barriers for liquid or solid
waste containment

geogrids - stiff or flexible polymer grid-like sheets with large apertures used primarily as
reinforcement of unstable soil and waste masses

geonets - stiff polymer net-like sheets with in-plane openings used primarily as a drainage
material within landfills or in soil and rock masses

geosynthetic clay liners - prefabricated bentonite clay layers incorporated between geotextiles and/or
geomembranes and used as a barrier for liquid or solid waste containment

geopipes - perforated or solid wall polymeric pipes used for the drainage of various liquids

geocomposites - hybrid systems of any, or all, of the above geosynthetic types which can
function as specifically designed for use in soil, rock, waste and liquid related
problems

The growth of these geosynthetic materials in Transportation, Geotechnical and Environmental

related applications has been strong and sustained for more than 20 years. Total use and sales of
these materials are regularly increasing at rates of 10% to 20% per year in each of the above
categories.

Geotextiles

Geotextiles form one of the two largest group of geosynthetics. Their rise in growth during the past
fifteen years has been nothing short of awesome. They are indeed textiles in the traditional sense,
but consist of synthetic fibers rather than natural ones such as cotton, wool, or silk. Thus
biodegradation is not a problem. These synthetic fibers are made into a flexible, porous fabric by
standard weaving machinery or are matted together in a random, or nonwoven, manner. Some are
also knit. The major point is that they are porous to water flow across their manufactured plane and
also within their plane, but to a widely varying degree. There are at least 80 specific applications
area for geotextiles that have been developed; however, the fabric always performs at least one of
five discrete functions:

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1. Separation (include cushioning / protection)

2. Reinforcement
3. Filtration
4. Drainage
5. Moisture barrier (when impregnated)

MAJOR USES OF GEOTEXTILES

(a) Separation of Dissimilar Materials

1. Between subgrade and stone base in unpaved roads and airfields
2. Between subgrade and stone base in paved roads and airfields
3. Between subgrade and ballast in railroads
4. Between landfills and stone base courses
5. Between geomembranes and sand drainage layers
6. Between foundation and embankment soils for surcharge loads
7. Between foundation and embankment soils for roadway fills
8. Between foundation and embankment soils for earth and rock dams
9. Between foundation and encapsulated soil layers
10. Between foundation soils and rigid retaining walls
11. Between foundation soils and flexible retaining walls
12. Between foundations soils and storage piles
13. Between slopes and downstreams stability berms
14. Beneath sidewalk slabs
15. Beneath curb areas
16. Beneath parking lots
17. Beneath sport and athletic fields
18. Beneath precast blocks and panels for aesthetic paving
19. Between drainage layers in poorly graded filter blankets
20. Between various zones in earth dams
21. Between old and new asphalt layers

(b) Reinforcement of Weak Soils and Other Materials

1. Over soft soils for unpaved roads

2. Over soft soils for airfields
3. Over soft soils for railroads
4. Over soft soils for landfills
5. Over soft soils in sport and athletic fields
6. Over thermokarst areas
7. Over unstable landfills as closure systems
8. For lateral containment of railroad ballast
9. To wrap soils in encapsulated fabric systems
10. To construct fabric-reinforced walls
11. To reinforcement embankments
12. To aid in construction of steep slopes

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13. To reinforce earth and rock dams

14. To stabilize slopes temporarily
15. To halt or diminish creep in soil slopes
16. To reinforce jointed flexible pavements
17. To bridge over cracked or jointed rock
18. To hold graded-stone filter mattresses
19. As a substrate for articulated concrete blocks
20. To stabilize unpaved storage yards and staging areas
21. To anchor facing panels in mechanically stabilized walls
22. To anchor concrete blocks in small retaining walls
23. To prevent puncture of geomembranes by subsoils
24. To prevent puncture of geomembranes by landfill materials or stone base
25. To create more stable side slopes due to high frictional resistance
26. To contain soft soils in earth dam construction
27. For use in membrane-encapsulated soils
28. For use in in-situ compaction and consolidation of marginal soils
29. To bridge over uneven landfills during closure of the site
30. To aid in bearing capacity of shallow foundations

(c) Filtration (Cross-Plane Flow)

1. In place of granular soil filters
2. Beneath stone base for unpaved roads and airfields
3. Beneath stone base for paved roads and airfields
4. Beneath ballast under railroads
5. Around crushed stone surrounding underdrains
6. Around crushed stone without underdrains (i.e., French drains)
7. Around perforated underdrain pipe
8. Around stone and perforated pipe in tile fields
9. Beneath landfills that generate leachate
10. To filter hydraulic fills
11. As a silt fence
12. As a silt curtain
13. As a snow fence
14. As a flexible form for containing sand, grout, or concrete in erosion control systems
15. As a flexible form for reconstructing deteriorated piles
16. As a flexible form for restoring underground mine integrity
17. As a flexible form for restoring scoured bridge pier bearing capacity
18. To protect chimney drain material
19. To protect drainage gallery material
20. Between backfill soil and voids in retaining walls
21. Between backfill soil and gabions
22. Around molded cores in fin drains
23. Around molded cores in strip drains
24. Against geonets to prevent soil intrusion
25. Against geocomposites to prevent soil intrusion
26. Around sand columns in sand drains

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27. Around porous tips for wells

28. Around porous tips for piezometers
29. As a filter beneath stone riprap
30. As a filter beneath precast blocks

(d) Drainage (In-Plane Flow)

1. As a chimney drain in an earth dam
2. As a drainage gallery in an earth dam
3. As a drainage interceptor for horizontal flow
4. As a drainage blanket beneath a surcharge fill
5. As a drain behind a retaining wall
6. As a drain beneath railroad ballast
7. As a water drain beneath geomembranes
8. As an air drain beneath geomembranes
9. As a drain beneath sport and athletic fields
10. As a drain for roof gardens
11. As a pore water dissipator in earth fills
12. As a replacement for sand drains
13. As a capillary break in frost-sensitive areas
14. As a capillary break for salt migration in arid areas
15. To dissipate seepage water from exposed soil or rock surfaces

(e) Moisture Barrier (when impregnated)

See list of applications under Geomembranes.

Geogrids

Geogrids represent a rapidly growing segment within the geosynthetics area. Rather than being a
woven, nonwoven or knit textile (or even a textile-like) fabric, geogrids are plastics formed into a
very open, gridlike configuration, i.e., they have large apertures. Geogrids are either stretched in
one or two directions for improved physical properties or made on weaving machinery by unique
methods. By themselves, there are at least 25 application areas, however, they function almost
exclusively as reinforcement materials.
Current Uses

The geogrids that result from the process described above are relatively high-strength, high-
modulus, low-creep-sensitive polymers with apertures varying from 0.5 to 4 in. (1 to 10 cm) in size.
These holes are either elongated ellipses, near-squares with rounded corners, squares or rectangles.
Under some circumstances, separation may be a function, but usually it is not. Invariably, geogrids
are involved in some form of reinforcement. The following uses have been reported in the literature.

1. Beneath aggregate in unpaved roads

2. Beneath ballast in railroad construction
3. Beneath surcharge fills or temporary construction sites
4. Reinforcement of embankment fills and earth dams

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5. Repairing slope failures and landslides

6. As gabions for wall construction
7. As gabions for erosion control structures
8. As gabions for bridge abutments
9. Construction of mattresses for fills over soft soils
10. Construction of mattresses over peat, tundra, and muskeg
11. As sheet anchors for retaining-wall facing panels
12. As sheet anchors and facing panels to form an entire retaining wall
13. As asphalt reinforcement in pavements
14. As cement or concrete reinforcement in a wide variety of applications
15. To reinforce disjointed rock sections
16. To reinforcement disjointed concrete sections
17. As inserts between geotextiles
18. As inserts between geomembranes
19. As inserts between a geotextile and a geomembrane
20. To reinforce landfills to allow for vertical expansion
21. To reinforce landfills to allow for lateral expansion
22. To stabilize leachate collection stone as veneer reinforcement
23. To stabilize landfill cover soil as veneer reinforcement
24. As three-dimensional mattresses for landfill bearing capacity
25. As three-dimensional mattresses for embankments over soft soils

Geonets

Geonets, called geospacers by some, constitute another specialized segment within the geosynthetic
area. They are usually formed by a continuous extrusion of parallel sets of polymeric ribs at acute
angles to one another. When the ribs are opened, relatively l rge apertures are formed into a netlike
configuration. Their design function is completely within the drainage area where they have been
used to convey fluids of all types. As such, they are single-function geosynthetics. The following
uses have been documented in the literature.

1. Water drainage behind retaining walls

2. Water drainage of seeping rock slopes
3. Water drainage beneath sport fields
4. Water drainage of frost-susceptible soils
5. Water drainage beneath building foundations
6. Water drainage of plaza decks
7. Leachate drainage of landfill side slopes
8. Leachate drainage above landfill liners
9. Surface water drainage within landfill caps
10. As a drainage blanket beneath a surcharge fill

Geomembranes

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Geomembranes represent the other largest group of geosynthetics and in dollar volume their sales
are probably larger than that of geotextiles. Their growth has been stimulated by governmental
regulations originally enacted in 1982. The materials themselves are "impervious" thin sheets of
rubber or plastic material used primarily for linings and covers of liquid- or solid-storage facilities.
Thus the primary function is always as a liquid or vapor barrier. The range of applications,
however, is very great, and at least 30 individual applications in civil engineering have been
developed.

CURRENT USES

A wide range of uses of geomembranes have arisen, all of which relate to the materials' primary
function of being "impervious." Note at the outset that nothing is strictly impermeable in an
absolute sense. Here we are speaking of relative impermeability compared to that of competing
materials. In the case of seepage containment liners, the competing material is often natural or
amended clay, which usually has a targeted hydraulic conductivity (permeability) of approximately
10-7 cm/s. By contrast, the equivalent diffusion permeability of a typical thermoplastic
geomembrane will be 10-11 to 10-13 cm/s. In this regard we speak of geomembranes as being
relatively impermeable.

Uses of geomembranes in environmental, geotechnical, hydraulic, and transportation activities are

listed below.

1. Liners for potable water

2. Liners for reserve water (e.g., safe shutdown of nuclear facilities)
3. Liners for waste liquids
4. Liners for radioactive waste liquid
5. Liners for secondary containment of underground storage tanks
6. Liners for solar ponds
7. Liners for brine solutions
8. Liners for water conveyance canals
9. Liners for waste conveyance canals
10. Liners for primary, secondary, and/or tertiary solid-waste landfills
11. Covers (caps) for solid-waste landfills
12. Within cutoff walls for seepage control at hazardous waste sites
13. Within zoned earth dams for seepage control
14. Linings for emergency spillways
15. Waterproofing within tunnels
16. Facing of earth and rockfill dams
17. Within cofferdams for seepage control
18. Floating reservoirs for seepage control
19. Floating reservoir covers for preventing pollution
20. To control odors in landfills
21. To control vapors (radon, hydrocarbons, etc.) beneath buildings
22. To control expansive soils
23. To control frost-susceptible soils
24. To shield sinkhole-susceptible areas from flowing water

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25. To prevent infiltration of water in sensitive areas

26. To form barrier tubes as dams
27. To face structural supports as temporary cofferdams
28. To conduct water flow in preferred paths
29. To act as containment structures for temporary surcharges
30. To aid in establishing uniformity of subsurface compressibility and subsidence
31. Beneath asphalt overlays as a waterproofing layer
32. To correct seepage losses in existing above ground tanks
33. Flexible forms where loss of material cannot be allowed

Geosynthetic Clay Liners

Geosynthetic clay liners (or GCLs) are the newest subset within geosynthetic materials. They are
rolls of factory fabricated thin layers of bentonite clay sandwiched between two geotextiles or
bonded to a geomembrane. Structural integrity is maintained by needle punching, stitching or
physical bonding. They are seeing use as a composite component beneath a geomembrane or by
themselves as primary or secondary liners.

CURRENT USES

GCLs are indeed hydraulic barrier layers to liquid movement and, as such, are competitive
wherever geomembranes and compacted clay liners are used.

However, GCLs have found uniqueness in the following applications in their own right.

1. Beneath a geomembrane in the primary liner of a landfill

2. Beneath a geomembrane in the secondary liner of a landfill
3. Beneath a geomembrane in the cover of a landfill
4. Above geomembranes as puncture protection against coarse gravel
5. As a portion of a compacted clay liner in primary composite liners
6. As a portion of a compacted clay liner in secondary composite liners
7. As secondary liners for underground storage tanks
8. As single liners for surface impoundments
9. Beneath a geomembrane as a composite liner for surface impoundments
10. Beneath a geomembrane as a composite liner for heap leach ponds
11. As single liners for canals

Geopipe (aka Buried Plastic Pipe)

Perhaps the original geosynthetic material still available today is buried plastic pipe. This "orphan"
of the Civil Engineering curriculum was included due to an awareness that plastic pipe is being
used in all aspects of geotechnical, transportation and environmental engineering with little design
and testing awareness. This is felt to be due to a general lack of formalized training. The critical
nature of leachate collection pipes coupled with high compressive loads makes geopipe a bona-fide

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member of the geosynthetics family. The function is clearly drainage.

CURRENT USES

Solid-wall and profile-wall plastic pipe are used in a wide variety of civil engineering applications.
Some that come to mind follow:

1. Highway and railway edge drains

2. Seepage drains in tunnels
3. Pore water drains behind retaining walls
4. Interceptor drains in seeping slopes
5. Interceptor drains for groundwater seepage
6. Pipes used in dewatering projects
7. Fluid transmission lines by gravity
8. Force transmission lines under pressure
9. Wastewater drainage systems
10. Piping in leach fields of various types
11. Chemical transmission pipelines
12. Primary leachate removal systems
13. Secondary leachate removal systems
14. Pipe risers in landfill sidewalls
15. Pipe manholes for leachate removal
16. Surface water removal systems in landfill covers
17. Dredging pipelines

Geocomposites

A geocomposite consists of a combination of geotextile and geogrid; or geogrid and geomembrane;

or geotextile, geogrid, and geomembrane; or any one of these three materials with another material
(e.g., deformed plastic sheets, steel cables, or steel anchors). This exciting area brings out the best
creative efforts of the engineer, manufacturer, and contractor. The application areas are numerous
and growing steadily. The major functions encompass the entire range of functions listed for
geosynthetics discussed previously: separation, reinforcement, filtration, drainage, and liquid
barrier.

Geotextile-Geonet Composites

When one uses a geotextile over or under a geonet, or makes a geotextile-geonet-geotextile

sandwich, the separation and filtration functions are always satisfied, but the drainage function is
vastly improved over geotextiles by themselves. Placed horizontally, they make excellent drains to
upwardly moving water in a capillary zone where frost heave or salt migration is a problem. When
the water enters the sandwich it travels horizontally within the geonet and away from where damage
can occur. Such geocomposites have also been used in intercepting and conveying of leachate in
landfills and for conducting vapor or water beneath pond liners of various types.

Geotextile-Geomembrane Composites

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Geotextiles are laminated on one or both sides of a geomembrane for a number of purposes. In the
reinforcement area, the geotextiles provide increased resistance to puncture, tear propagation, and
friction related to sliding, as well as providing tensile strength in and of themselves. Quite often,
however, the geotextiles are of the nonwoven, needle-punched variety and are of relatively heavy
weight. In such cases they act as drainage media, since their in-plane transmissivity feature can
conduct water or leachate away from direct contact with the geomembrane.

Geomembrane-Geogrid Composites

Since some types of geomembranes and geogrids can be made from the same material (e.g., high-
density polyethylene), they can be joined together (actually welded) to form an impervious barrier
with enhanced strength and friction capabilities.

Geotextile-Geogrid Composites

Those geotextiles with low modulus, low strength and/or high elongation at failure can be greatly
improved by forming a composite material with a geogrid, or even with a woven fabric scrim. The
synergistic properties of each component usually enhances the final product.

Geotextile/Polymer-Core Composites

When one takes a core in the form of a quasi-rigid plastic sheet, it can be extruded or deformed in
such a way as to allow very large quantities of water to flow within its structure. It thus acts like a
drainage core. The core is protected by a geotextile, acting as a filter, on one or both sides. Many
systems are available. Strip, or wick, drains fall into this group and it might eventually form a
category in its own right, the word "geospacer" has been suggested. Here the polymer core is often
fluted for ease of conducting water and formed about 4 in. (100 mm) wide with a geotextile
stocking around it. The emergence of geotextile polymer-core composites has all but eliminated
traditional sand drains as a rapid means of consolidating fine-grained saturated soils.

In the form of panels, the rigid polymer core can be nubbed, columned or dimpled and with a
geotextile on one side makes an excellent drain on the backfilled side of retaining walls, basement
walls and plaza decks. These cores are often vacuum formed. As with strip drains, the geotextile is
the filter and the deformed polymer core is the drain. Many systems of this type are available, the
latest addition having a thin pliable geomembrane on the side facing the wall and functioning as a
vapor barrier.

Lastly, within this area of drainage geocomposites comes the category of prefabricated edge drains.
These materials, typically 18 in. (45 cm) are placed adjacent to a highway pavement or railroad
right-of-way for lateral drainage out of, and away from, the pavement section. The systems are
incredibly rapid in their installation and extremely cost effective.

Geosynthetic-Soil Composites

As typified by the geosynthetic clay liners, many other variations of geosynthetic products and soil
can be developed.

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For example, geocells are rigid polymer strips and geotextiles have been cleverly arranged
vertically in a boxlike fashion, placed horizontally (standing upright) and filled with soil. Thus the
material forms a cellular structure and acting with the contained soil, makes an impressively strong
and stable mattress. Sizable earth embankments have been built on such structures with the
possibility of supporting structures over weak soils in the near future (i.e., an inexpensive mat
foundation).

Another variation is to use continuous polymer fibers and sand to form a steep slope with excellent
strength properties. The fibers give the composite material a very pronounced apparent cohesion.

Other Geocomposites

By weaving steel strands within a geotextile matrix, incredible composite material strengths can
result. Used as a substrate, extremely large loads can be sustained. A measurable increase in bearing
capacity for the support of buildings is also possible.

Open-graded styrofoam beads have been sandwiched between geotextiles (as filters) and
geomembranes (as vapor barriers) for drainage materials behind basement walls and earth-sheltered
homes. Here the styrofoam acts as the drain but has the added advantage of acting as a heat
insulator.

Geotextiles with prefabricated holes for the insertion of steel rod anchors have been used to
stabilize slopes and as in-situ compaction and consolidation systems. The rods act as anchors,
stressing the geotextile against the soil, which is put into compression. The geotextile thus acts
dually as a tensile stressing mechanism and as a filter allowing the pore water to escape while
retaining the individual soil particles.

Added to this list are short fibers, grids, and nets to be placed in concrete or bitumen to form a high
impact composite material, etc., etc.

"Geo-Others"

The general area of geosynthetics has exhibited such innovation that many systems defy
categorization. For want of a better phrase, geo-others, describes items such as threaded soil
masses, polymeric anchors, and encapsulated soil cells. As with geocomposites their primary
function is product-dependent and can be any of the five major functions of geosynthetics.

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