GEOSYNTHETICS AND

REINFORCED SOIL STRUCTURES

Filtration of Soils Using Geosynthetics

Dr K. Rajagopal
Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
IIT Madras
Madras, Chennai
[email protected]
 Outline
• Introduction
• T
Types off filters
filt
• Problems in filter design
• Experimental Observations
• Summaryy
 Simple explanation of the filter 
concept
• Tea filter
fil should
h ld allow
ll the
h
passage of liquid tea while
retaining
t i i the
th tea
t powder
d
• If the openings in the filter are
large, tea powder will flow
through, which is undesirable
• If the filter openings are too
small, liquid may not strain
through freely, which is also not
desirable
 Filtration
Equilibrium soil to geotextile system that allows 
q q
for adequate liquid flow with limited soil loss 
across the plane of the geotextile over a service 
lifetime compatible with the application under
lifetime compatible with the application under 
consideration.
 Functions of a Filter
• Retain
R t i particles
ti l off the
th base
b soil
il to
t be
b filtered
filt d
• Avoid piping
• Allow free flow of water
- upstream of the filter
Avoid external clogging (With unstable soils)
- through the filter
- Avoid internal clogging
• Survive construction and environmental stresses
• Function can be pprovided byy either natural
aggregates or by Geotextiles
 100
90 D85
80
70
D60
nt finer

60
50
Percen

40
30
P

20 D15
10
0
0.01 0.1 particle size
1 (mm) 10
2
 D D
cc 
60
cu
30

D10 D D
10 60
 Conventional granular filters
The water flow from base soil through the filter
should not result in loss of fines from the soil
(piping) or if any fine soil particles pass through
theyy should not clogg the filter duringg the life time.
The permeability of the filter should be high.
d 15
( filter
filt )
 5 (to prevent piping)
Retention criteria: d ( soil )
85

d 15
( filter )
 5  20
Permeability criteria:
d 15
( soil )
In most cases, it is not possible to directly satisfy the above
criteria. In such cases,, graded
g filters are provided,
p , i.e. layers
y
of different size soil particles gradually increasing in size away
from base soil.
Conceptual representation of filtration phenomenon

Larger particles have

larger inter-particle
space
p

Filter layer(s)

Base soil
Flow
direction

Pore pressure dissipation through soil

Water bubbles coming out of stagnated water on a
pavement
Notice the water bubbles coming
out of the stagnated water
Geotextiles as filters
Thin geotextile – used
as separator
separator, filtration

Thick g
geotextile used
for cushion and
drainage
 woven non-woven

Natural geotextiles made of jute

 Comparison between conventional & 
geotextile filters
Item conventional Geosynthetic
Thickness High (> 150 mm) Very low (3 – 10 mm)
Porosity 25 to 50% 75 to 90%
Tensile strength None Low to high
Compressibility Very low Function of normal
pressure
Availability as per Depends on quarry Manufactured under
design controlled conditions
Capillary raise Important (hc < Not significant (hc<50
500mm) mm)
Risk of damage None Installation damage
 Similarities
Internal clogging by finer particles
Biological clogging (warm climates)
Biological clogging (warm climates)
Clogging due to Precipitation of salts
Clogging in environmental applications
Frost susceptibility
Frost susceptibility
Equipments used for Apparent Opening Size test
 15

er
10
ercent fine
pe

0
10 100 O90 O95
particle size (microns)

Typical data from dry sieve analysis on a woven geotextile

O90 = 150microns
O95 = 230 microns
Geotextile
G t til filter
filt in
i uniformly
if l
graded soil

Geotextile filter in
well graded soils
Filter in cohesive soil – no piping due to bridging due to
cohesive strength – in such cases, pore opening could
be larger
 Fine soil p
particles p
piping
p g out initially
y

Flow around a geotextile immediately after installation

 CLOGGING
Filling up of the voids in the textile with solid particles
progressively until the passage of water is slowed
down
Clogging reduces the hydraulic conductivity
Internal clogging – by mineral particles, by
precipitation and chemical deposition of particles
f
from salt/iron
lt/i l d water
laden t
by biological growth in aerobic conditions & warm
climates
li
Geotextile Selection for granular soils
Geotextile Selection for granular soils

Piping limit:
O90  D85 of soil

Permeability limit:
O90  D15 of soil
and O90  0.05
0 05 mm
 Minimum water flow rate
Minimum water flow rate
Up to Apparent Opening Size (O90) < 75,
flow rate required
q = 30 lit/m2/s under 100
mm head
For higher O90 sizes,
sizes the flow rate linearly
increases up to about 100 lit/m2/s under
100 mm head ffor large opening size off
800 
 Geotextile for Clay Soils
Geotextile for Clay Soils
Piping Limit
O90  0.12
0 12 mm
Permeability Limit
O90  0.05 mm and minimum water
permeability
pe eab ty o t es/ 2/sec u
of 30 litres/m under
de
100 mm head
 Permeability criterion
Permeability criterion
Giroud (1985)
For granular filters
kgf  10 ks
For geotextile filters
kg  0.1 ks as tg  tgs/100 (theoretically for similar
headloss)
For critical applications, kg > 10ks where failure may
result in loss of life& result in structural damage
For non-critical applications, kg > ks
 Long term flow compatibility
Long term flow compatibility
What is the compatibility between the geotextile 
g g
and the soil at the given site.  Will the geotextile 
eventually clog?
 Geotextile Selection for steady‐state 
flow
More than 20% clay (d20 < 2)  
 Non‐dispersive soil  O
p 
95 < 210
 Dispersive soil use 75 to 150 mm fine sand between 
base soil and geotextile and then design the
base soil and geotextile and then design the 
geotextile as a filter for the sand
Less than 20% clay (d20 > 2)
Less than 20% clay (d > 2)
Geotextile for dynamic flow conditions
Geotextile for dynamic flow conditions
More than 30% clay fraction (d30 < 0.002 mm) 
Non‐dispersive
Non dispersive soil 
soil –
O95 < 10d50; O95 < d90 and O95 < 0.1mm

Dispersive soil
Dispersive soil
Use 75 to 100 mm fine sand layer below 
geotextile and design the filter for this sand 
layer 
 Stable or unstable soils ?
Stable or unstable soils ?
Internally Stable soils – soils with uniform 
g
gradation or linearly graded broad gradation 
yg g
(well graded) soils 
Unstable soils subject to internal movement of 
Unstable soils – subject to internal movement of
soil particles,e.g. gap graded soils 
 Dutch guidelines for filter
Dutch guidelines for filter
O90 < d90 for woven geotextiles
O90 < 2 d
< 2 d90 for nonwoven geotextiles
for nonwoven geotextiles
 German Working Group 14 
recommendations
Soil Description Geotextile criteria
d40 < 0.06 mm, stable soil Dw < 10d50 and Dw > 2d90
d40 < 0.06 mm, problem soil Dw<10d50 and Dw < d90
d40 > 0.06 mm, stable soil Dw<5 d10(U)1/2 and Dw < 2d90
d40 > 0.06 mm, problem soil Dw<5d10(U)1/2 and Dw<d90

Dw = apparent opening size from wet sieve test

Problem soils are as follows:
Fine grained soils with a plasticity index less than 0
0.15
15
Soils whose d50 lies between 0.02 and 0.10 mm
Soils with a uniformity coefficient less than 15 which also
contains clays or silts
 Example
For a particular soil, d10=0.02 mm, d50=0.08 mm, 
d60 = 0.10mm, d90 = 0.29 mm; select a suitable 
geotextile for filtration by German method
U = d60/d10 = 0.1/0.02 = 5
U = d = 0 1/0 02 = 5
As 0.02 < d50 < 0.10, soil is problem soil
Dw < 5d10 (U)1/2 = 0.224 mm and Dw<d90=0.29mm
H
Hence DDw < 0.224 mm
< 0 224
 Gradient Ratio Test (ASTM D5101)

overflow

100 mm soil 
100 il
column
=100 mm
50mm geotextile
25mm
MANOMETERS
PERMEAMETER

Flow through a soil underlain by a geotextile filter layer is

analysed. Compatibility between the two is established
 Gradient ratio test
• Flow through a soil underlain by a geotextile 
filter layer is analysed
y y
• Compatibility between the two is established
• Different heads of water are measured
ff h d f d
(h 2  h1) / 25
GR 
(h3  h 2) / 50
• Mass of piped particles
h3
= mass/unit area 50mm soil
25mm h2
geotextile
25mm
• For good compatibility between the h1

geotextile
t til and
d soil,
il steady
t d state
t t GR
value should be less than 3.
 NON‐WOVEN WOVEN
2.5

2
GR  VALUE
E

1.5

1
G

0.5

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
TIME(HR)

Gradient ratio tests on two different types of geotextiles and 
beach sand After long time steady state of flow is established
beach sand.  After long time, steady state of flow is established 
Compatibility between geotextile filter and soil
 AASHTO Task Force 25 
recommendations for drainage and
recommendations for drainage and 
filtration applications
pp

Strength unprotected Protected

geotextile geotextile
Grab strength 820 N 370 N
Puncture strength 370 N 120 N
Trapezoidal tear 230 N 120 N
strength
 Routine application
pp of lining ga
channel in British Columbia
with stone rip rap to protect
glacio-lacustrine
l i l t i base
b soil.
il
Minimum permittivity required
is 11.4/sec
4/sec and maximum
apparent opening size of
100. Needle punched non-
woven geotextile that meets
these specifications was found
t workk wellll as separator
to t and d
filter at this site.

Geotextile filter with stone rip rap for routine applications

(P l i and
(Palmeira d Fannin
F i 2002)
Results from g
gradient ratio tests on artificially
y
clogged geotextiles Palmeira and Fannin (2002)
Influence of gradient ratio on the pore pressures
in the base soil Palmeira and Fannin (2002)
( )
Collapse of canal bank due to piping failure (lack of filtration)
Palmeira and Fannin (2002)
Clogging of a geotextile filter due to microbial activity and
iron deposit in a Brazilian dam Palmeira and Fannin (2002)
Cluster of soil p
particles entrapped
pp in a g
geotextile
Palmeira and Fannin (2002)
 Summary
• Geotextiles
il have found to be excellent filters
h f d b ll fil
• Design is mostly by empirical equations
g y y p q
• Choosing a filter for complicated situations 
such as geoenvironmental applications, gap 
such as geoenvironmental applications gap
graded soils, reversing flows requires more 
understanding
• For critical applications, compatibility 
b t
between filter and base soil should be 
filt db il h ld b
carefully evaluated