Geosynthetics (Chapter 4)

 Manufactured from Polymeric material used with soil, rock, earth or other
geotechnical engineering related materials as an integral part of a man-made project,
structure, or system.
Types of Geosynthetics
 Geotextiles – are permeable synthetics material made of textile material such as
polypropylene, polyethylene, or polyester.
 Geogrids – primarily used for reinforcement and they are heat-welded from strips of
material or produced by punching a regular pattern of holes in sheet of material that are
then stretched into grids.
 Geonets – they are usually form by a continuous extrusion of parallel sets of polymeric
ribs at acute angles to one another.
 Geomembranes – very low permeable Geosynthetics materials made from relatively
thin continuous polymeric sheets, but they can also be made from the impregnation of
geotextiles with asphalt, elastomer, or polymer.
 Geocomposites – made by combining different Geosynthetics materials or by combining
Geosynthetics material with non-synthetic materials.
 Geocells – are cellular confinement systems made from strips of welded high density
polyethylene (HDPE) that form a honeycomb grid when expanded and are filled with
aggregate or soil.
 Geosynthetics clay liner – they are rolls of factory fabricated thin layers of bentonite
clay sandwiched between two geotextiles or bonded to a geomembrane.
Function of Geosynthetics
 Filtration - Geosynthetics can be used as filters to prevent soils from migrating into the
adjacent material, such as drainage aggregate, while allowing water to flow through the
(e.g. trench drains,
 Drainage - Geotextiles or geocomposites can be used as a drainage, or conduit, by
allowing water to drain from or through low-permeability soils.
 Separation - Geosynthetics can be used as a separator to separate the two dissimilar
materials and prevent them from mixing, such as the use of geotextiles between fine-
grained subgrade and granular base course below a roadway.
 Reinforcement - Geogrids or geotextiles can be used as reinforcement to increase shear
strength of soils, thereby providing a more competent structural material.
 Erosion Control - Geosynthetics can be used to minimize the movement of soil particles
due to flow of water (e.g. riprap and steam bank to minimize the erosion of soil below
the riprap.
Primary Advantage of Geosynthetics
 Relatively low cost for many application
 Ease and convenience for many application
 Quick and effective protection against erosion problems
 Design methodologies are available for many uses
 Wide variety of geosynthetic products are available to meet specific needs
 May be removed and reused if economically feasible
Polymers in Geosynthetics
 All Geosynthetics products except for the natural products are made of polymers.
 The word polymer is derived from the Greek language “poly” means many and “moros”
means parts.
 Polymer is a long continuous chain molecules formed from repeated sequence of all
small organic units.
 Each part is called “monomer” – single unit.
 Monomer is a molecular compound use to produce polymer.
 Polymerization is the use of heat, pressure or a chemical catalyst to link monomer
material into polymer chains.
 Molecular weight of a polymer is the degree of polymerization (no. of monomeric units
packed into a polymer) multiplied by the molecular weight of the repeating unit.
Two categories of Polymers
1. Thermoplastic Polymer is one which can be repeatedly heated to its softening point and
made into desired shapes and cooled to preserve the shaped.
2. Thermoset Polymers the above process cannot be repeated. Material will just simply
degrade upon reheating.
 Example of thermoplastic
1. Polyethylene (PE)
2. Polypropylene (PP)
3. Polyester (PET)
 Example of Thermoset
1. Butyl
2. Nitrile
3. EPDM
  All Geosynthetics are thermoplastic
Types of Polymers
 Polyvinyl chloride: (PVC)
 PVC is produced from its monomer, vinyl chloride.
 PVC is a hard plastic, addition of plasticizers make material flexible for making
geomembranes.
 Polyester
 Contains ester functional group in their main chain.
 Reaction of alcohols with acids via a chemical bonding (ester linkage).
 Polyamide
 Polymer containing of monomers joined by peptide bonds.
 They can occur naturally, example being proteins such ass wool and silk.
 Example nylon and Kevlar.
 Polystyrene
 Made from monomer styrene.
 Expanded polystyrene is the most common usage 5% polystyrene and 95% air.
 Lightweight filler material – very low density of the order of less than 20 to 25
kg/m3.

REFERENCES:
 Application of Geosynthetics in Civil Engineering by Dr. Priyanka Ghosh
 Geosynthetics and Reinforced soil structures by Prof. K. Rajagopal
 The Constructor Civil Engineering home
 Geosynthetics – an overview : https://www.sciencedirect.com
 Polymer composites : www.engr.psu.edu
 www.getsco.net
 http://nilex.com/products/geosynthetic-clay-liners-gcl
 https://www.geobera.com/urunler/geonet-en/
 https://theconstructor.org/building/geosynthetics-in-civil-engineering-construction-
works/14148/
 https://www.roadsbridges.com/defining-geosynthetic-type-and-functions

SUBMITTED BY:
GROUP-4B
 BALADJAY, NIÑA LYN T.
 BIBON, JERAHMIE J.
 DE SAGUN, JESSA