How does woven geotextile cope with high water pressure in river regulation?
Publish Time: 2025-03-24
As an important material in modern river regulation projects, the performance of woven geotextile in high water pressure environment is directly related to the safety and durability of the project. Faced with the surge in water flow and continuous high water pressure during the flood season, woven geotextile has demonstrated excellent compressive resistance and protective effect through special structural design and material technology.Material selection is the first line of defense against high water pressure. Geotextiles made of high-strength polyester or polypropylene filaments woven by special technology have a breaking strength of 80-120kN/m, which is enough to resist the high water pressure impact of most rivers. These synthetic fibers have excellent hydrolysis resistance, and the strength retention rate after long-term immersion is above 95%. More importantly, the material has been treated with UV protection to avoid aging problems caused by direct sunlight, ensuring that stable mechanical properties can be maintained under long-term high water conditions.The design of the woven structure directly determines the compressive resistance of the geotextile. Using a two-way orthogonal weaving process, the warp and weft yarns are interwoven at a specific angle to form a uniform grid structure. This design enables the geotextile to evenly distribute the concentrated water pressure to the entire plane, avoiding damage caused by excessive local stress. Advanced weaving machines can accurately control the yarn density, while maintaining water permeability and improving tensile strength. Actual measured data show that the deformation rate of high-quality woven geotextile can still be controlled within 5% when the water pressure reaches 2MPa.The innovation of laying technology has significantly improved the compression performance of geotextiles. In river regulation, layered staggered laying technology is adopted, and adjacent geotextiles overlap by 30-50cm, and double-line locking is performed with high-strength sutures. This laying method forms a continuous protective surface, which effectively prevents water flow from penetrating and damaging the joints under high water levels. In bends or areas with turbulent water flow, U-shaped anchor nails will be added for fixing, and the spacing will be increased to 0.5m to ensure that the geotextile does not move under water pressure.The synergy with other engineering materials enhances the overall compression system. Woven geotextile is usually used in conjunction with gabions, precast concrete blocks, etc. to form a composite protective structure. As the bottom filter layer, the geotextile can not only withstand the weight pressure of the upper material, but also discharge the pore water pressure in time through its permeability. In high-water areas, a layer of geogrid is also laid on the geotextile to form a three-dimensional reinforced structure, which converts vertical water pressure into plane tension and greatly improves the anti-scouring ability.Special treatment technology further optimizes the high-pressure performance of geotextile. Composite woven geotextile with PVC or polyurethane coated on the surface enhances tear resistance while maintaining permeability. Some high-end products also use a needle-punched composite process to combine non-woven fabrics with woven fabrics to form a gradient filtration structure, which can not only withstand high water pressure, but also effectively prevent the loss of soil particles. The geotextiles treated with these treatments performed well in simulated flood impact tests and can withstand continuous scouring at a flow rate of 10m/s.Long-term monitoring data verifies the reliability of woven geotextile in high-water environments. In a large-scale river regulation project, the installed woven geotextile has withstood the test of five years of flood season. During this period, the highest water level exceeded the design standard by 1.5m, but the protective structure was intact. Sampling tests showed that the material strength only decayed by 3%, far below the safety threshold. This long-lasting compressive resistance makes woven geotextile an indispensable key material in river regulation projects. With the advancement of materials science, the compressive resistance of woven geotextile will continue to improve in the future, providing more reliable protection solutions for water conservancy projects.
