Composite geotextile made with a reinforcing method using friction to unwind filament tows: Manufacturing techniques and property evaluations

Abstract

Engineering design and academic research have been paying more attention to low impact development (LID), one prime development of which is geotextiles. This study uses friction to unwind filament tows for the production of composite geotextiles, meeting the demands of engineering and strengthened geotextiles. The mechanical and physical properties of the composite geotextiles are evaluated in terms of the filament content and needle punching depth. The test results prove that filament-reinforcement can significantly improve mechanical properties: tensile strength and tearing strength of the composite geotextiles are 2.3 and 7 times, respectively, those of commercially available geotextiles. The physical properties of the geotextiles also meet the standards, suggesting that the reinforcing method, which requires simple equipment to unwind the filament tows, can mechanically improve geotextiles and is suitable for mass production. The method creates multi-functional composite geotextiles and embodies the principles of LID technology. The composite geotextiles with a diversity of applications are helpful with environmental protection and sustainable development.