Geotextile characteristic opening size: The Influence of some test parameters

Abstract

Designing a geotextile for filtration applications requires information on the characteristic opening size of the geotextile. Several techniques are available for measuring the characteristic opening size, but there is no one universally accepted. Three test methods are usually used: dry sieving, hydrodynamic sieving and wet sieving. The wet sieving test method was used to study the influence of some test parameters (soil granulometry, water flow rate and vertical amplitude) on the results of opening size measurement. For this purpose six nonwoven geotextiles were studied. The results showed that the test conditions can indeed influence results of the measurement of characteristic opening size.