Mechanical damage of a nonwoven geotextile induced by recycled aggregates

Abstract

The installation process (which many times induces mechanical damage) may provoke unwanted changes in the mechanical behaviour of the geosynthetics. This work evaluates the effect of the aggregate on the mechanical damage under repeated loading suffered by a geotextile. For that purpose, the geotextile was damaged in laboratory (procedure based on EN ISO 10722) with recycled aggregates (construction and demolition waste and incineration bottom ashes) and corundum (standard aggregate used in EN ISO 10722). The damage occurred in the geotextile (in the mechanical damage tests) was evaluated by visual inspection and by monitoring its tensile and static puncture properties. Results showed that the damage caused by the recycled aggregates in the short-term behaviour of the geotextile was lower than the damage induced by corundum. Thus, and concerning mechanical damage, there are good perspectives for the use of the recycled aggregates as backfills in contact with geotextiles.