Geotextiles Expand the Range of Diverse Applications in Geotechnical Engineering

The demand for layering, filtration, and reinforcement in geotechnical engineering, road infrastructure, and river management continues to grow. Geotextiles, as flexible geosynthetic materials, are gradually replacing traditional sand and gravel filter layers and steel reinforcement layers due to their four core functions: filtration, reinforcement, drainage, and protection. This optimizes construction processes and reduces long-term operation and maintenance costs. Geotextiles are divided into two main categories: short-fiber and long-fiber. Long-fiber geotextiles have continuously interwoven fibers, resulting in higher tensile strength and making them suitable for heavy-load applications such as roadbed widening and embankment reinforcement. Short-fiber geotextiles have a uniform pore structure and excellent filtration and permeability, and are often used for riverbank protection and underground drainage layer laying.

Traditional roadbed construction often uses sand and gravel cushion layers for drainage and isolation. However, sand and gravel mining damages natural hillsides, transportation and storage occupy large amounts of space, and the layered laying process is cumbersome. Under long-term vehicle loads, the sand and gravel layer is prone to hardening and blockage. When the drainage function fails, water accumulates and the roadbed settles, leading to road surface cracking and collapse. Geotextiles, laid on the subgrade layer, isolate the subgrade soil from the gravel cushion layer. Fine soil particles do not seep into the drainage layer and clog pores, allowing rainwater to drain quickly through the fabric, keeping the subgrade soil dry and stable, and effectively delaying the road surface damage cycle. In embankment and riverbank protection projects, geotextiles are laid on the outside of geomembranes to buffer damage from water erosion and gravel friction, while trapping soil particles to prevent soil erosion on the banks. Combined with ecological vegetation planting, it achieves integration of engineering protection and ecological greening.

Soft soil foundation treatment is one of the core application scenarios for geotextiles. Silt-like soil has extremely low bearing capacity, and direct filling is prone to uneven settlement. After multi-layer geotextiles are laid in layers, the interwoven fiber structure evenly distributes the upper load, improving the overall bearing capacity of the foundation, reducing the number of piles used, and significantly reducing project costs. Environmentally friendly and biodegradable modified versions of the material are already in mass production. After use in landscaping and temporary ecological projects, it can gradually decompose with the natural environment, leaving no solid waste residue. On the production side, continuous process optimization enhances the tear resistance and aging resistance of the geotextile. The improved geotextile is adaptable to complex geological environments such as saline-alkali, humid, and cold regions, and does not pulverize or break down even after long-term underground burial.

In practical engineering construction, geotextiles are easy to cut and splice, adaptable to irregular site contours, significantly shortening the subbase laying period. The material is lightweight and easy to transport, reducing the investment in heavy transportation equipment compared to sand and gravel subbases. Currently, geotechnical engineering is developing towards low-carbon, high-efficiency, and long-term performance. Geotextiles, leveraging their lightweight and multifunctional advantages, are continuously expanding into emerging application scenarios such as mine restoration, tunnel seepage prevention, and artificial island construction. Related supporting laying and welding construction processes are being standardized simultaneously, helping to improve the quality and efficiency of infrastructure projects and promoting the green transformation of the geotechnical materials industry.