The structure of nonwoven heat-bonded geotextiles is analyzed using a geometrical probability approach. An expression of the pore size distribution of these filters is derived from basic manufacturing parameters. Two experimental techniques used to evaluate fabric opening size—dry sieving of glass beads and hydrodynamic sieving of soils—are investigated and the results compared to the calculated opening size obtained using the pore size distribution equation. Excellent agreement has been found between the calculated opening size and the filtration opening size measured with the hydro dynamic sieving technique.
The filtration performance of non‐woven thick synthetic membranes used as filter fabrics is predicted from a proposed analytical method. The morphological analysis of many commercial fabrics has been utilized to identify internal structure parameters responsible for their hydraulic properties and also to predict the water permeability and the retention of particles in these fabrics.
Experimental filtration tests were performed to gather data on the water permeability used in predicting clogging level. Also fibres' density and pore size histograms of fabrics were measured with an Image Analyser and a relationship was developed between the water permeability and the fibres' density.
Finally it was found that the pore size histogram of non‐woven fabrics of thickness greater than 1.5 mm could be calculated simply by measuring its water permeability and using an empirical correlation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.