A comparison of the forces developed at the peat-geotextile interface using woven and nonwoven fabrics

Abstract

A viable solution to the problem of constructing roads on compressible soils, specifically peat, is discussed in this paper. Other methods are presently employed, including brush-matting, but not to any great success. This report studies an alternative technique, the use of woven and nonwoven geotextile fabrics. Tests using a shear box and three heights of aggregate, five, ten and twenty centimeters, are described and the resulting conclusions are discussed. It was found the shear force developed between the geotextile fabric and peat was a combination of adhesion and friction forces. Furthermore, the adhesion force was found to represent only a small portion of the total shear force. The nonwoven fabric was found to initiate the largest failing force (shear force) for each aggregate height tested. Also, in each.test the maximum shear force for the woven fabric developed at a smaller displacement than it did for the nonwoven fabric. Key words: adhesion force, compressible soil, friction force, geotextile fabric, peat, shear box, shear force