A laboratory investigation on the impact resistance of a woven geotextile

This paper focuses on the impact resistance of geotextiles when subjected to impact loadings induced by dropping of stones. Such scenarios occur when geotextiles are used as a protective measure for fine granular material where is prone to be washed away. Usually, these geotextiles are restrained by placement of stones on top of them. A laboratory testing program is performed to expose a woven geotextile under dropping of a concrete block with various dropping energies and geometries. The induced damage on the geotextiles is inspected after the drop. Results indicate that as the drop energy increases, not only the possibility of puncturing of geotextiles increases but, in case of puncturing, the punctured area of geotextile expands as well. In addition, it is found that the geometry of the concrete block, where it collides on the geotextile, plays an important role on the survivability of geotextiles. In addition, PIV analysis has been performed to better understand the deformation pattern of the geotextile under impact loading. Based on the PIV results a simple scheme is suggested to estimate the drop energy threshold that the geotextile can survive under certain block geometry.