Over the last 30-40 years the use of geotextiles on construction projects has grown rapidly and continues to do so. With such growth, there has been a tendency for the product to become commoditised where geotextiles can be supplied on price rather than ensuring the correct type of product is supplied for the particular application.
Geotextiles are manufactured using two basic methods, either woven (FasTrack) or non-woven (MultiTrack). For a large percentage of projects, where basic separation is the main requirement, using either type of product would be suitable. However, the two manufacturing processes are inherently different, giving the resulting products differing properties. For more particular applications this can be significant and could result in an incorrectly specified product being unfit for purpose.
In principle, nonwoven geotextiles offer superior performance in applications with a significant hydraulic element or critical separation function. In contrast, woven geotextiles offer superior performance where tensile strength for reinforcement is required. It would be impractical to list every possible use of a geotextile but to provide some guidance on which geotextile to use, and where, we have prepared the table below for guidance.