DESIGN METHODS FOR GEOTEXTILES (1) design by cost and availability, (2) design by specification, and (3) design

by function. Design by Cost and Availability Geotextile design by cost and availability is simple. One takes the funds available divided by the area to be covered and calculates a maximum allowable geotextile unit price. The geotextile with the best available properties is then selected within this unit price limit. One's intuition plays a critical role in the ultimate selection process. The method is obviously weak technically but is still sometimes practiced. Design by Specification Geotextile design by specification is common and is used almost exclusively when dealing with public agencies. In this method several application categories are listed together with critical fabric properties.

Design by Function Design by function consists of assessing the primary function that the geotextile will be asked to serve and then calculating the required numerical value of that particular property. By dividing this value into the candidate geotextile's allowable property value, a factor of safety (FS) will result.

where allowable property = a value based on a laboratory test that models the actual situation, required property = a value obtained from a design method that models the actual situation, and FS = the global factor of safety against the great unknown(s). If the factor of safety is sufficiently greater than 1, the candidate geotextile is acceptable.

ALLOWABLE VERSUS ULTIMATE GEOTEXTILE PROPERTIES

A particular value of a property cannot be used directly from the laboratory test and must be suitably modified for in situ conditions. This could be done directly in the test procedure (ie., by conducting a completely simulated performance test); but in many cases it simply is not possible. Such situations as full-size test specimens, long-term creep testing, use of site-specific liquids, representation of in situ pore water stresses, complete stress state modeling, etc., are generally not feasible for laboratory situations. To account for the difference between the laboratory-measured test value and the desired performance value, two approaches can be taken: 1. Use an extremely high global factor of safety at the end of a problem. 2. Use partial factors of safety on the laboratory-generated test value to make it into a site-specific allowable value. For problems dealing with geotextile strength, the formulation takes the following form,

DESIGNING FOR SEPARATION

For a separation function to occur, the geotextile must be placed on the soil subgrade and then have stone placed, spread, and compacted on top of it. A number of scenarios can be developed showing what geotextile properties are required for a given situation. Burst Resistance Consider a geotextile on a soil subgrade with stone of average particle diameter (da) placed above it. If the stone is uniformly sized, there will be voids within it that will be available for the geotextile to enter into. This entry is caused by the simultaneous action of the traffic loads being transmitted to the stone, through the geotextile, and into the underlying soil. The stressed soil then tries to push the geotextile up into the voids within the stone.

Required geotextile strength which can be adopted for this application:

Problem
Given a l00-lb./in.2 truck tire inflation pressure on a poorly graded stone base course consisting of 2 in. maximum-size stone, what is the global factor of safety using a geotextile with an ultimate burst strength of 285 Ib./in.2 (Standard dia. of ball in the bursting tester da=1.2) and sum of partial factors of safety of 1.5? Make necessary assumptions.

Tensile Strength Requirement

Tensile stress is mobilized by in-plane deformation. This occurs when the geotextile is locked into position by stone base aggregate above it and soil subgrade below it. A lateral, or inplane, tensile stress in the geotextile is mobilized when an upper piece of aggregate is forced between two lower pieces that lie against the geotextile. This is similar to the grab tensile test.

One can estimate the maximum strain that the geotextile will undergo as the upper stone wedges itself down to the level of the geotextile.

The tensile force being mobilized is related to the pressure exerting on the stone as follows

Problem
Given a 100-lb./in.2 truck tire inflation pressure on a stone base course consisting of 2 in. maximum size stone with a geotextile beneath it, calculate (a) the required grab tensile stress on the geotextile, and (b) the global factor of safety for a geotextile whose ultimate grab strength at 33% is 125 lb. with a sum of partial factors of safety of 2.5.

Puncture Resistance The geotextile during its placement must survive the installation process. Indeed, fabric survivability is critical in all types of applications; without it, the best of designs are futile. In this regard, sharp stones, tree stumps, roots, miscellaneous debris, and other things on the ground beneath the geotextile could puncture through the geotextile after stone base and traffic loads are imposed above it.

For the above conditions, the vertical force exerted on the geotextile (which is gradually tightening around the protruding object) is as follows:

Problem What is the factor of safety against puncture of a geotextile from a 2.0-in. stone by a loaded truck with tire inflation pressure of 80 Ib.lin.2 traveling on the surface of the stone base? The geotextile has an ultimate puncture strength of 45 lb. according to ASTM D4833. Assume 0.33, 0.155, and 0.6 for S1, S2 and S3, respectively, and cumulative partial factor of safety is 2.0.

Impact Resistance The resistance of a geotextile to impact is as much a survivability criterion as it is a separation function. Yet in many instances of separation, the geotextile must resist the impact of various objects. The most obvious one is that of a rock falling on it, but there are also situations in which construction equipment and materials can cause or contribute to impact damage on geotextiles. The problem is one of the energy mobilized by a free-falling object of known weight and height of drop. Rarely will an object be intentionally impelled onto exposed geotextile with additional force, so only gravitational energy will be calculated.

Problem What energy is mobilized by a free-falling rock of 12 in. average size falling 4 ft. onto a geotextile? The geotextile is supported by a poor subsoil having a CBR strength of 4 (reduction factor 13). If the geotextile has an allowable impact strength of 16 ft.-lb., what is the global factor of safety?