Comparison of Geotextile Durability to Outdoor Exposure Conditions in the Peruvian Andes and the Southeastern USA

Abstract

Outdoor exposure tests were completed on two woven slit-film polypropylene geotextiles with carbon black and two nonwoven needle-punched polyester geotextiles in Huaron (∼11°S; 4,600 m elevation) and Vijus (∼7°45′S; 1,250 m elevation), Peru, and Atlanta, Georgia, USA (∼33°46′N, 315 m elevation), for a period of 12 months. The retained strength values of the polypropylene geotextiles deployed in Vijus ranged from approximately 64 to 95% and 49 to 122% for the 180 and 260 g/m2 mass per unit area geotextiles, respectively, compared to unexposed specimens. Likewise, the retained strength values of the polyester geotextiles deployed in Vijus ranged from approximately 64 to 82% and 70 to 98% for the 420 and 550 g/m2 geotextiles, respectively. Higher retained strength values (10 to 15%) were obtained for the geotextiles exposed to outdoor conditions in Huaron and Atlanta. The role of latitude and altitude in the strength loss of geotextiles was not clear; the strongest observed trend was that the highest strength losses appeared to be more closely correlated with the highest maximum and minimum temperatures.