An assessment of the retention performance of nonwoven geotextiles

Geotextiles are well-established filters in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering owing to their rapid and straightforward installation, cost-effectiveness, and environmental advantages. To properly fulfil the filter function, geotextiles must retain base soil particles while maintaining acceptable levels of piping. This paper investigates the accuracy of retention criteria for nonwoven needle-punched geotextiles. A comprehensive literature review was carried out on the size of particles that passed through geotextile filters. The accuracy of predictions made by probabilistic and empirical methods was evaluated. The results indicate that the routine application of probabilistic approaches to assess geotextile retention capacity faces significant challenges, particularly when the method requires the experimental determination of constriction spacing. In this context, the methods proposed by Faure (1988) and Elsharief and Lovell (1996) outperformed that of Silveira (1965). The available empirical retention criteria demonstrated satisfactory reliability and conservatism in evaluating the retention capacity of nonwoven geotextile filters.