Effect of chemical treatment on physical, mechanical, and morphological characteristics of sisal geotextile

Abstract

This study explores the effect of chemical treatment on the physical, mechanical, and morphological properties of two kinds of sisal geotextiles treated with potassium hydroxide and coated with bitumen emulsion. Physical characteristics like mass per unit area, yarn properties, thickness, water absorption and mechanical properties, including tensile, tearing, and puncture strength, were examined. The findings showed significant enhancements in tensile strength (up to 54.90%), tearing strength (up to 103.81%), and puncture strength (up to 32.2%) of emulsion-coated untreated, emulsion-coated alkali-treated and alkali-treated geotextiles, respectively. Furthermore, the alkali-treated emulsion-coated geotextile had the highest mass per unit area with the least water absorption. Morphological, elemental, and crystallographic analyses complemented these outcomes.